Popular Dissent
by Elite Beauty
Summary: "We saved the world together." That's a hollow thing to say now that we aren't as close as we used to be. It was never the same after the fallout. But as an enemy dawns on the horizon, we need to deal with the repercussions of our actions. We need to pick up the pieces and start all over. Otherwise, surrender is inevitable and both worlds will cease to exist.
1. Diverging Lifestyles

**Hello!**

**Well, here we go again. Popular Dissent - another story idea that I had in which I couldn't help myself from writing. Besides Paradoxical Universes, this little bit was one of the things that got me inspired to write again. Honestly, I promised myself I wouldn't start another story without finishing Apocalyptic Quest and Paradoxical Universes, but I couldn't help it. ;) For now, Apocalyptic Quest is still on hiatus and for those (many or few) interested in Paradoxical Universes - I'm still working on that one! **

**So, here is two tidbits of information you need to know:**

**It's AU - especially since Digimon Tri will be released in the spring.**

**And...**

**Ages:**

**Joe - 26  
****Tai, Sora, Matt - 25  
****Izzy, Mimi - 24  
Yolei - 23  
Davis, Kari, T.K., Ken - 22  
Cody - 21**

**And there we go! I hope you enjoy the first chapter of this installment. :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. It would be wonderful if I did. :)**

* * *

**Chapter 1 – Diverging Lifestyles**

* * *

"And that's pretty much why we can't just go and launch this album. It won't work."

"Of course it will. It's designed that way."

"Just because you are the producer, buddy, doesn't mean it will miraculously sound good."

"I know it does. I've done so many tests on it that it might as well have earned the right to go to college."

"Fantastic. Let's all now waste thousands of dollars and throw everything up into the air!"

"Enough!" Matt's colleagues all turned to him in surprise. As he took a moment to gather his thoughts, the blonde quickly realized that he stood up in the midst of all this madness.

"You have something to add, Mr. Ishida? If you do, please do so now," the owner of the record label scowled at him, gesturing with a condescending tone.

Matt forced a smile to show on his lips. "Look, even though Akira's ego is getting too big for his own good, he's right. We came up with the best album there is and we have to go for it. Yutaka, Takashi, don't you agree?"

His band mates of the Wolves reluctantly nodded their heads in agreement.

"Great. See Mr. Kiyan, we are already prepared to release this album. I think it goes along with everything else, don't you think?"

"I suppose," the record label owner replied, scratching his chin. Matt could see that this was already working in his favor. For once.

"Let's not waste any time then. Let's release it and see what the fans think."

"Now, now, Mr. Ishida...let's not get ahead of ourselves, hmm? If this album doesn't go through the roof, we're going to drop you from the record label."

"Couldn't have said it better myself, Mr. Kiyan," Matt agreed with him—only for the sake of agreeing with the man. If this album doesn't sell, he's doomed. He yearned for the days when the Teenage Wolves were the band to watch out for. Now that they're just 'Wolves', their fans believed that all they're trying to do is stay in the past, or so the critics say.

"Show yourselves out. Hopefully for you, this works out in your favor," Kiyan stated, waving them off. The lead singer of the Wolves glanced at his other band mates. He cringed at the thought of them getting dropped off. It wasn't only his career that was on the line. He dragged down everybody else with him too.

He had to face it though. The whole music industry wasn't going well for him at all. It dawned on him that he had to get an actual job.

"Well, here's to hoping," Matt heard Takashi say as the band walked out of the building.

"If it doesn't work out, fellas…I had fun," Yutaka added in. Matt scoffed, shaking his head. Do they not believe that this can work?

"Godspeed," Akira said, wishing them all good luck. For once, the former Digidestined agreed with him. They were going to need all the luck they could get.

Life hadn't been that great for him ever since he graduated high school. Sure, his band was able to tour the world. And yes, he was able to date one of the most beautiful and wonderful women that he had met. However, after a couple of years of musician stardom, things started to go downhill.

He almost dropped out of college. Not because he couldn't get through it, but because he didn't really see the point if the record label offered him fame and fortune. Thank goodness T.K. was there to help him out and push him through. The former Digidestined of Sincerity had broken up with him. Well, he believed that it was a mutual breakup, but he knew that she thought otherwise.

He supposed it was karma. Nothing accounted for the fact that he screwed over the one he truly loved. He screwed her over, and he knew that there was probably nothing to make up for it.

Whatever. There was no time to think about it now. He had to get this album to sell. Otherwise, there would be nothing for him that was worth living for.

* * *

Everyone bustled about the dressing room, putting makeup on the models and fitting them appropriately for the fashion show. Gorgeous male swimsuit models lined up outside on the platform while the beautiful women were preparing for their part in the extravaganza.

Mimi's lips were pursed as she flipped through a magazine. Now that her part was over, she could just relax. When she heard her name called out through the dressing room, she slouched further into her chair. At least, she thought she could relax.

"There you are. You need to get dressed."

Her perfectly shaped eyebrows creased in confusion. "Why? I'm done for the day, aren't I?"

"One of the other models called in sick, so we need you to take her place."

"Why not have someone else do it?"

"You were hired for this job. And as such, it is _your_ job to follow your superior's orders."

She narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth to protest. But a whirlwind of makeup artists and hair stylists got a hold of her before she could. They sat her down in a chair and started working on her appearance.

It wasn't like she loathed her job as a professional model. It's just that she didn't particularly like it anymore. She was never home as she was always traveling around the world for these fashion shows. She didn't get to spend enough time with her family and friends as it is. Not to mention, her love for the culinary arts was set aside as she had to make way for her modeling career.

How she wished she could go back and change her decision to become a chef instead of a model.

But there was nothing to be ungrateful about. She appreciated everything—especially since she got to ride first class, had an amazing wardrobe, and got to see all the sights of the world while doing the thing she loved the most. Keyword: loved.

Don't get her wrong, modeling was fantastic and it was the one thing she wanted to do in her life since she was a little girl. She loved being the center of attention and pride swelled in her heart when she was the one to bring to the table the newest fall fashion line. It was like she was the one inventing a whole new wardrobe for people to love. But now it didn't feel like that anymore. It felt like work. Which wasn't what she wanted in the first place.

Not to mention that her boyfriend resided in the opposite hemisphere of the globe. That was a little overdramatic, she conceded. Oh well. That didn't really matter anyway. She didn't get to share her success with a man, or even a best friend, that she'd like to share everything with. Both of those chances to do so with two certain people went down the drain years ago.

Mimi felt like her life really fit one of those they warn you about in the movies: success means nothing if there's no one special to share it with. She scoffed. Yeah, that about summed it all up. But what was she supposed to do? Grovel and plead for their forgiveness? Yeah, right. Like that'll do anything. She tried. And they didn't forgive her. So all that was left for her to do was move on. With her life, with her job, with everything.

Before she knew it, everyone who attended to her was finished with perfecting her look for the evening.

Her phone rang. Looking down, she saw a picture of her boyfriend and his name flashing on the screen. Her fingers hovered over answer, but she chose ignore instead.

"Miss Tachikawa, you'll be up in 10."

"Alright, don't have to tell me twice," she replied to her assistant, unlocking her phone in the process of standing up. Names of close friends and the Digidestined appeared on the screen as she scrolled through her contacts. Two groups that were once in the same category separated as time went by.

Taking a deep breath, she locked her phone and left it in her purse. She eyed the male models winking at her as they came. It wasn't like she couldn't have them. She knew that she could with their glorious abs and toned muscles and charming smiles and luscious hair. But she wasn't going to hurt him. Not this way. Not in the way she hurt the others.

Her heels clicked and clicked until she stood by the rest of the models gearing up to join the fashion show. Her manager eyed her with concern.

"Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be. Let's just go ahead and do this, shall we?"

As she stepped onto the runway, she felt fame and fortune welcoming her.

Friendship and love, however, did not.

* * *

Izzy tried blinking the sheer boredom out of his eyes.

It wasn't working.

He then tried running his hands through his hair—which was a mistake by the way since he had styled it to perfection before he left the house earlier.

He brought his hands up to his face in hopes of rubbing the sleepiness out of them.

Nothing.

"Izzy! Are you even listening to a word I said?"

"Of course I am, Evelyn. Of course. You were just telling me about your boss and how he had no right to assign you to a project that you had no idea was going on in the first place."

His date for the evening smiled at him in response. She put a hand to her chest for a heartfelt affect. "Aw. You _are _listening."

Internally, he rolled his eyes. Not really, but if it helps give the illusion that he is, then why not?

He lifted his wrist to check the time on his watch. _7:30_. Huh. Had it really only been thirty minutes since they got here and sat down and ordered and started eating and everything? Emma—no Evelyn—had started to talk once more. Why did he have to pick someone with a name that was nearly identical to Emma? Well, not exactly. Evelyn _did_ sound closer to Evie, which reminded him of a Pokemon's name.

As soon as she put the last bite of her dish into her mouth, he waved his hand in the air, signaling the waiter to come over.

"Check, please." He muttered. The waiter nodded and took off to get the one thing that would finish the date. Yeah, it was a short one. But it wasn't exactly _prodigious_ either.

He couldn't have recalled a time where he paid a bill faster than he did right now. Once he left a tip for the waiter, he stood up and grabbed his coat. Evelyn stood up as well whilst gathering her belongings. As they were walking out of the restaurant, he felt a tug on his tie.

"So…where are we off to next, Mr. Izumi? Back to your place, perhaps?"

Heh. No, not if his life depended on it. "Um, actually, you know what, Evelyn? I actually have a seven o'clock meeting in the morning tomorrow. So, I can't actually you know be out later than um, eight."

She gave him a confused look. He laughed it off with a nervous guffaw. "We can still go for some ice cream down the street. It isn't that late yet."

"But you know what? It is." He replied, gently tugging her out of the restaurant. Once they were outside, he patted her shoulder a little bit.

"And you're going to bed right after you return home?"

"Uh…yes. That's exactly what I usually do. You know, I need at least ten hours of sleep before I get to work tomorrow."

Izzy wanted to hit himself in the head. If that wasn't the most ridiculous thing anybody's ever said, he didn't know what was. What kind of person that didn't fall in between the ages of one and twelve went to bed at eight o'clock at night?

"Ah okay, mister." She said, poking his chest playfully. "You're probably just saving it for the next time we go out, huh?"

Sure, if she wants to think it as such. He set his lips into a thin line and quirked the tips upward into somewhat of a smile. He made himself chuckle a little again. That's what she thought. When in reality, this is what was going to happen: he will take her home, walk her to her door, tell her he had a good time, and when she asked for a call or for a next date, he'd just smile politely and say that his work didn't really give him a chance to get together because of the business of it all. And she'd understand. He wasn't a complete jerk about it. His mom raised him to be a gentleman and to be polite. He was definitely going to follow up on that so as to not disappoint her.

Besides, there was no way he was going to pursue this any further. And it wasn't like he was lying. He actually did have an early meeting tomorrow. And he was pretty busy with work most of the time.

They would usually understand because their career is just as important as his. Work was a vital part of life. There was always that part to consider.

When he got home, he was a little mindful of the darkness that surrounded his apartment. He opened the lights and looked around the empty living room. The emptiness didn't bother him as much as it used to. Izzy put his keys in its proper place and took off his coat. He proceeded to take his blazer off and loosen his tie. He didn't know what to do now except work. And he definitely wasn't going to go sleep for ten hours.

He could call Evelyn for a late cup of coffee. He could call another girl and see if she'd like to go out on a date.

Instead, he decided to go into his office and start up his laptop.

* * *

"Well, would you look at that?"

Sora smiled with pride as she showed her boss her latest designs.

"Thanks, I worked all night trying to get the little details right."

"It's a piece of crap."

Her face fell as her boss threw her paperwork into the trash. "I thought it was—"

"Obviously, you thought wrong. Here hold this," her boss instructed, shoving a dress into her hands. Whilst gesturing to said dress, she continued, "That is what art looks like, Takenouchi. And if you can't do that, then you might as well just leave."

Sora nodded silently, all while trying to hold her outburst in. "Will that be all, ma'am?"

Her boss waved her away, and Sora took that as her cue to back out and exit the office. When she approached her desk, she spotted a familiar face. Her disdain turned into excitement as she ran into his arms.

"What are you doing here?"

He smiled and held up a paper bag. "I brought you lunch."

"Oh, Tadashi, you shouldn't have."

"Well…when we spoke earlier, you sounded really stressed out, so I thought I'd come here to surprise you with your favorite meal."

Sora grinned as she hugged him. "You have just made my day. You're the best." She leaned in and gave him a peck on the lips. "Thank you," she whispered.

"That's what fiancés do, right? Help their fiancée when they're down." She looked up at him and saw his charming, endearing grin. She couldn't help but feel elated. "Were you able to get in contact with that friend of yours…Rei was it?"

She shook her head in response. "Not yet. But I'll call her later today and see if she has time to meet with us. What time do you get off work?"

"Around five."

"Great! We can discuss the wedding plans with her then," Sora said, wrapping her arms around his torso yet again.

"Alright, I'll see you tonight?"

"Yep. Don't be late," she warned him, leaning in for another kiss. Their kiss this time lasted several more seconds before they broke apart. She looked into his beautiful brown eyes, almost drowning in them before she cleared her throat, and he took that as a signal to step away.

"I'll be going. Wouldn't want you to get into trouble."

"Argh, yes. Okay, bye. Love you."

She heard his response as he made his way out of the door. "Love you too!"

Shaking her head, she sat back down at her desk and started to eat her lunch. She wondered how she got so lucky to have a guy like him. Even though her career wasn't going exactly as planned, at least her love life made up for it.

While she ate her lunch, she thought about her wedding. It wasn't going to be big. She planned it to be composed of a small gathering with friends and family. She had already discussed the nuances of the wedding with Tadashi—centerpieces, cake, food, venue, time and date—but they hadn't gone over the guest list yet.

Certainly her parents and his parents would be invited. Heck, their whole family would be there. His closest friends and hers. That would be about it.

Rei would have to be there. In addition to being her best friend, she was their wedding planner. Her closest tennis team friends would also be invited. Coworkers? Not so much. There weren't any other people Sora would consider herself pretty close with except for…the Digidestined.

There was Tai…who would definitely be there. He was flying in from who knows where later tonight. She supposed that she could send Izzy an invitation, even though they haven't talked in years. Joe, who if he didn't have something else planned for that day, could probably make it. Kari should be invited too because she is Tai's sister and they are friends. T.K.—sure, why not? Davis, Yolei, Cody, and Ken could come too if they wish. Mimi…well, she wasn't planning on speaking a word to her anytime soon, so she could count her out. And Matt…well, she's inviting T.K., so did that mean she needed to invite his older brother as well?

Would Matt get ahold of her wedding knowledge from T.K.? Would Mimi? It has been years since the incident. Maybe she _should_ be the bigger person and invite them.

Sora shrugged, unsure of what to do. She'll talk about it with Tai later. Right now, she needed to call Rei.

* * *

Joe raised his hand to knock on the door, but decided against it. Ugh. How could he have been so stupid? He's been standing here for ten minutes doing the same thing over and over again. They had a good time the other night, right? It wasn't just him imagining things? Then why couldn't he do this one thing? All he had to do was knock.

The door opened before he could raise his hand to knock on it again.

"Joe?"

"Hey, Momoe, I…," he started. He was still looking down at his shoes.

"No, no. No, no, no."

"What, but I—" he turned his head upwards to look Momoe in the eye. He grimaced when he saw whom he was actually talking to.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Yolei, I can explain—"

"Oh, you better explain alright. What—are you…are you _doing_ my sister?"

What did that even mean? He wasn't doing—oh. He was definitely not _doing_ her sister. That was a misinterpretation on her part.

"No! I'm not, I just…um…."

Yolei scowled at him and he cringed under her glare. "You just what? Decided not to give her a call the next morning?"

"Nothing happened, Yolei! Nothing beyond like a peck on the cheek, okay?"

"If he says nothing happened, then nothing happened," he heard a voice behind Yolei, seeing Ken step up beside her. Ken put his hands on her shoulders and it seemed to calm Yolei down a bit. Joe was grateful for the miracle that is Ken.

"I don't believe him."

"What? But I just said—"

"Nope. He can't come in."

"Yolei, I just wanted to let your sister know that I had a good time the other night and would like to do it again. I even brought flowers."

She eyed the flowers suspiciously, like it was made out of poison or something.

"You should give him a chance," Ken suggested. "I think Joe and Momoe would be a good match."

She turned on him and he put his hands up in surrender. Joe felt sorry for the guy. "Do you? Do you really?"

"Can I just—" Joe interrupted, handing over the flowers to Yolei.

"No!" The couple replied and Joe shrunk away. Was a girl really worth all this trouble? Especially if he had a feeling that he'd be having this exchange with her sister every single time he came over?

"Fine. Give me the flowers. I'll tell her you stopped by."

"But wait—" he protested as she took the flowers from his grasp and slammed the door in his face. "…don't change the message." He nodded to himself as he walked to the elevator. She's definitely going to tell Momoe something different than what he set out to tell her himself.

* * *

"Thank you, Mr. Hida. These discoveries will certainly help in tomorrow's trial."

Cody bowed his head in response. "I'm glad it'll be of assistance."

"You know what?" his mentor asked him.

"Yes?"

"You've been working too hard. Take the night off. Go out with some friends. Take someone out on a date."

"Oh, sir, I haven't been working that hard. I think I'll just go home and study some more."

"Nonsense! Actually, you know what? Maybe you could meet my daughter. I think she'll be thrilled to go out with someone like you."

Cody opened his mouth to protest, but thought against it. This was his boss after all, and he didn't want to offend him by indirectly saying that he didn't want to go out with his daughter. Maybe he could say that he doesn't have to do it. Play it off like the boss was doing a favor for him instead of the other way around.

"Sir, you really don't need to."

"She's been single for years as well! This could be a good match."

"Um…."

"I'll pick you up at seven tonight, okay?"

"Uh…."

"Okay, see you Cody," his boss went out the door and Cody was left to stew over the fact that he had to go and charm his boss's daughter. If it doesn't go well, his boss will hate him. He couldn't act like a repulsive guy. His boss would know he was out of character, so there goes the fact of making the daughter hate him. He couldn't be polite because then, what if it goes well? And then they had to get married? And then his boss would become his father-in-law?

It's going to be okay. Isn't it? His boss re-entered the room.

"Actually, Cody, she's meeting me for lunch. Let's go."

"Um, now sir?" He didn't have time to mentally prepare for this.

"Yep!"

"Uh, okay." Cody picked up his jacket, put it on, and started to head out the door after him. He saw the opposite route of where his boss's car was parked. Maybe he could escape.

"She's wonderful, Cody. You're going to love her."

He chuckled with his boss as the car started to drive toward the restaurant. This wasn't weird, wasn't it? It wasn't everyday that his boss set him up on a date.

"Here we go. You ready, tiger?"

He scrunched up his eyebrows in a 'I'm-a-little-weirded-out-sort-of-way'. But instead of showing that, he cleared his throat and nodded, smiling a little to show that he wasn't nervous about this at all.

"Reservation for Kawada," his boss said once they entered the restaurant.

"Right this way, sir." Cody couldn't make out the face of the woman already seated at the table.

"Sunshine!"

"Dad! How are things?"

"Great! Oh, this is Cody Hida. Cody, this is my daughter and pride, Noriko Kawada."

His eyes widened as he recognized the name of his boss's daughter. This couldn't be any more awkward.

* * *

The buzzer rang throughout the gym as the ball went through the hoop. T.K. congratulated his other teammates on their win. A brunette came up to him and hugged him tightly.

"Congratulations, honey!"

"Thanks, Kimiko. Are you ready to go and celebrate?"

He felt her lips on his. Afterwards, she beamed up at him. "Yeah, let's go."

"Okay, let me just change first. I'll meet you outside."

He went to go to the locker room, his teammates patting his back as he went inside. Professional basketball was something he'd never thought he'd be doing, and yet, here he was. Checking his phone, he read a text from Davis.

_Hey man! Just checking in to see how the pro life is. Call me back when you can._

It was ironic how he thought of Davis as his best friend. Considering all they went through to get Kari's attention when they were younger. Speaking of Kari…he shook his head. She was something that he should definitely not be thinking about. Yeah, they went through a lot together. But what pulled them away shouldn't have. He partially blamed himself for that. Stop that, he told himself. He couldn't be thinking about that now. He put his phone away after texting Davis a reply.

But as he changed, his mind wandered to Kari. How was she? Did she have a boyfriend? Was she married? Did she move out of Japan? It wasn't a surprise that the Digidestined drifted apart after not having an enemy to defeat every now and then. But his fallout with Kari was unprecedented.

"T.K.!" He heard Kimiko call from the other side of the door. "Are you ready?"

"Yep!" T.K. zipped up his bag and headed out of the locker room. Putting an arm around his girlfriend, he smiled at her. "So, where to for dinner?"

"I've wanted to try out that new restaurant near Malibu. You?"

He nodded vigorously in reply. She laughed. He loved it when he could make her laugh.

"How's your book coming along?"

"Oh…" he trailed off. He wanted to become a writer, not just a basketball player, but he was plagued with a drought of no inspiration. He didn't know what to write about. Not even an inkling came to mind. Steamy romance novel? No, thanks. Comedic relief? Not his thing. A cookbook or a motivational piece? Yeah…that wouldn't get him anywhere. "It's good. I wrote my name on the front cover."

He turned to see her laugh with amusement. "And you want to become a writer…why?"

T.K. shrugged, not really knowing why anymore. He perked up, remembering the reason he started out with. "Because I'd like to tell stories that have never been heard of before. I'd like to present people with a new perspective. It's something that seems worthwhile doing."

He felt her grab a hold of his chin; he looked down into her eyes. "Playing basketball won't help."

"Yeah, but at least it pays the rent right?" He joked, laughing at his inability to write something off.

"You do what you want to do, T.K. Just as long as it makes you happy."

He looked at her, albeit puzzled and somewhat comforted by what she said. For the first time, her words seemed to line up with something Kari would say.

* * *

"Hold it! Hold it right there please!"

Panting heavily, Tai caught his breath as the elevator doors closed. He groaned as he ran his hands through his disheveled hair. He swerved his head from side to side, trying to find a clock. _8:15_. Damn it, there was no way he'd make it in time now. He was _so _fired. Next month's rent would be gone and extinguished from his life. And the food that has kept him alive for so long.

He violently threw the papers he was holding down on the floor. Tai's chocolate brown eyes glared at everyone who threw a judgmental look towards his way. What, had they not seen this happen before?

Now what was he going to do? The red-eye to Japan wasn't leaving until later that night, and it wasn't like there were any clubs he could go to. There was no point in entering a meeting that started thirty minutes ago. What was he going to explain to the Swiss embassy? That he slipped on a banana peel into a puddle of mud and had to go and change his shirt? Yeah, like that'll go over well.

He slid down to the floor—his back against the cool marble tile of the walls and his butt kind of finding unwanted solace from the cold floor. A ringing noise stopped him from closing his eyes. Tai patted the pockets of the cheap and worn-out suit he got on a great bargain deal. Nope, it wasn't in his blazer. His pants didn't hold his cell phone either. Spotting it lying on the floor beside the mess of papers, he dove to pick it up. Hopefully, it wasn't his boss congratulating him on a job screwed up.

"Tai," he sat up straighter, clearing his throat to answer his sister in greeting.

"Kari. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"What's with the formality? I was just checking to see what time your plane was landing tonight."

"Um…," the former soccer player's fingers went up to his head, knocking it a little in hopes of remembering the time of his flight. "Probably around nine o'clock? In the morning. My plane doesn't leave until eight tonight."

"Okay," he heard her breathe a sigh of relief.

"What, did you forget or something?"

"No, no, I just was hoping that I didn't totally space out on your arrival time. Just wanted to check with you." Tai narrowed his eyes at her reply. There was definitely something off in her voice.

"Kari," he whispered. "Are you okay?"

Sniffles can be heard from her end of the phone. "Yeah, yeah, I'm good. Nothing to worry about."

"What is it, Kari?" He gritted his teeth together. What could have happened to make her like this?

"Um, it's nothing, I'm fine. Just a break up that's all."

Tai stood up with fury in his normally jovial chocolate eyes. "I told you he was a good-for-nothing lowlife. And you didn't believe me. What was his name? Trevor? Travis?"

"Thanks," she replied sarcastically. He immediately felt guilty for making her feel worse about the whole thing. "And it's Trent."

"Trent. Huh. What a stupid ass name."

That at least earned a chuckle out of her and for now, he would take it. "Don't worry, Kari. I'll be home soon."

"For what, a day?" That did it. Guilt was pouring in through his system now. It wasn't like he meant to leave every so often. That was his job. As one of the ambassadors sent across the world for various ambassador-like duties, he couldn't stay at home for too long.

"It'll be for more than that, Kari. I promise."

"Fine. I'll meet you at baggage claim. Travel safe."

"Thanks. You too," Tai said and hung up the phone. He heaved a sigh. Now what was he going to do for the next couple of hours?

* * *

Kari stared at her phone after the call ended. She had to prepare for Tai's return. Maybe he'd like some ramen? Or some chicken? She didn't know. Recess was almost over and it was time for the kids to come back in.

"Alright, everyone! Let's go study more about the alphabet, shall we?"

Her kindergarten students groaned as they filed into the classroom. One boy, whose name was Bobby, raised his hand. She acknowledged his question with a nod of her head. He spoke.

"Miss Kari, can we talk about something else other than the alphabet?"

The other kids agreed with him, getting more excited at the possibility about discussing something else than learning their ABCs.

"Yes please, Miss Kari. And then we'll go right back to the alphabet. Pretty please?" A girl, Maddy, asked politely.

"I guess we can," Kari said, pretending to be distraught about not getting to learn the alphabet. "But only for a little while. What do you guys like to talk about?"

"Where do babies come from?" a kid asked from the back.

"Um…what?" Kari blinked. _This_ she certainly wasn't expecting. And it was way above her pay grade to answer that question.

"You don't know where babies come from?" Bobby asked incredulously. Was it normal for a kid to be paired with the word incredulous?

"And you do?" the kid stuck his tongue out at Bobby.

"I do," Maddy replied. "My momma and daddy say that they come from love."

"Ewwww!" was the response, more or less, Kari heard from the class. Why wasn't she stopping this conversation?

"Love stinks!"

"No it's not!"

"Love is for those with cooties!"

"You're stupid for saying that!"

"Okay, class. We can talk about love. What do you think love means?" Kari asked her students. This topic at least is more appropriate.

"To get married to somebody who hates you," Kari looked over at the child who said that. Um, well she wasn't expecting that.

"Love is what they show in those princess movies."

Maddy raised her hand. Kari called her name, prompting her to share. "I think love is when you're missing some of your teeth, but you're not afraid to smile because you know your friends will still love you even if some of you is missing."

Kari was taken aback by what Maddy said. Did she really say that? It wasn't poetry or anything, but it was pretty insightful for a five year old. Hmm…it made sense. It could apply to anything really—forgiveness and apologies included. At this rate, Maddy (the six-year old kindergartener) will find love before she (Kari Kamiya, kindergarten teacher) started to actually understand what it meant.

* * *

"Get Japan's greatest noodles here!" Davis called out to potential customers walking by his awesome noodle cart if he did say so himself. He got a lot of looks—some weirded out, some disgusted, but all in all, he had to pat himself on the back. He was able to sell a fair amount today. Well, if a fair amount equals around five-and-a-half. The half was due to the fact his customer spilled his newly bought noodles as he was walking away from the cart. But still, it wasn't half-bad a number.

To top it off, he was pretty ecstatic. Here he was, living his dream he's had since he was thirteen. Not bad at all, Motomiya. Not bad at all.

"Psst."

Davis looked up and down, trying to find the source of the voice.

"Back here, you idiot."

He turned around, expecting someone eager to buy noodles, but was faced with an old—like really, really old—woman who seemed to not want anything to do with his noodles at all. Wait. That came out wrong.

"The Digital World is in trouble once again."

He almost tripped on his own two feet. Well, if he was walking he would've. "Excuse me?"

"The Digidestined is needed."

"Yeah, I kind of figured that out, thank you very much," he replied sarcastically. How the heck did this woman know about the Digital World? Did they start giving out their secrets about Digimon to everyone who seemed to have some sort of an imagination?

"You…don't want any noodles?"

The ancient lady glared at him and hit him on the head. Ow. "No! I do not want any noodles!"

"Oh…." There seemed to be that kind of silence where it was too awkward, but no one knew what to do next kind of silence.

"It's time for you to return."

"But why? Now? Look lady, I don't know what kind of drugs you're hopped on, but I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Soon. The Shadow King is coming."

Huh. The Shadow King. What in the world did that mean? "And plus, I can't go right now. See, I have to sell at least 40 packs of noodles today, or else I'm out of business."

"We're not going to get anywhere with this." She touched his arm. He tugged it back. What was she trying to do?

Touching his arm again, she just spoke two words. "Brace yourself."

* * *

He woke up in an…office? A part of him said that everything was fine while the other part started to hyperventilate. Davis held his head in a tender manner. It felt as if he was hit with a ton of bricks and then thrown off a bridge or something. His eyes widened as he looked around the room.

Tai. Izzy. Sora. Matt. Mimi. Joe. Kari. T.K. Yolei. Ken. Cody.

Well, this was a sight to see that's for sure. He couldn't remember a time where they were all in the same room together.

"Ken? Ken! Are you okay?" he heard Yolei and turned to watch her shake her boyfriend.

"What the—" Matt's voice resonated throughout the room.

The lady. Where was she? She better have not disappeared, otherwise he'd sound like a complete moron when he would tell his encounter with her to them.

"Where are we?" Sora wondered aloud. Question of the century.

"My office," Izzy replied. The computer genius got up and walked to his desk. Davis was astounded by the fact that he seemed unfazed. He sat down and put his head in his hands. Or not.

"Why…what do you want with us?" Matt inquired. Davis nodded his head. He'd like to know that too.

"I don't want anything to do with you," Izzy replied, with more of a distasteful sound that Davis had ever heard come out from his mouth. "I don't even know why or how we got here."

"Um…I might have an idea." Davis offered his knowledge. The other eleven Digidestined looked at him as if he just got there. "This lady…."

"Is saying that you need to save the Digital World once again." The ancient lady he came across a couple of minutes—hours—ago walked out of the shadows behind Izzy's chair.

"Aahhhh! Who the…" Izzy fell out of his chair and landed on the floor. Davis laughed. The guy looked as if he was about to pee his pants.

"Who the hell are you?" Tai asked. Thanks, Tai. That's exactly what he hasn't been wondering all this time.

Miss Ancient (yes, that's what Davis now called her) blatantly ignored Tai.

"You are all needed to defeat The Shadow King."

"Can you _please_ explain one—who are you and two—who is the Shadow King?" Izzy raised his voice, exasperated that this woman wasn't telling them anything.

"I will explain all. But first, I need to know that you will put aside your differences and your trifles in order to come together as a team and work like true friends."

After she said that, everyone looked at each other, all unwilling to admit the fact that what she's asking may not happen. Even Davis wasn't oblivious to everything that went on between certain members of their team. She spoke in riddles and as if everything would be hunky-dory and all rainbows and sunshine and unicorn poop. She was talking as if they could just solve all of their problems with the flick of a wrist.

The ancient fairytale lady was way out of her element. He would become a billionaire with his noodle cart shop before that ever happened.

* * *

**The title of this story is honestly my favorite one. Any guesses as to why? There are many things left unanswered and gaps that need to be filled in, so stick around to discover more!**

**Another disclaimer: Maddy's definition of love didn't come from me. I found it online. An actual six-year old did write it though.**

**Also, who's excited for Digimon Tri? I know I am!**

**Thank you for reading! Feel free to send me any thoughts or questions you have in a review or a PM! :)**


	2. Incompatible Personalities

**Hi! I'm back with another update! For those who like action, this doesn't get into the action packed part yet. To those who want answers, you're right where you need to be! Here's another chapter in this installment. I hope you all like it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. Sigh.**

* * *

**Chapter 2 – Incompatible Personalities**

"So are you going to tell us what's going on or not?" Yolei asked the woman indignantly. Matt chose to silently sit in one of the corners of Izzy's office.

They were still there. It had been an awkward ten minutes after the lady announced her unrealistic and cliché request. He ran his hands through his blonde hair. She spoke in riddles. There was no way they were going to get a reasonable answer out of her. He wondered why they bothered trying.

"Will you put your differences aside and stop fighting in order to work together as a group of friends?" The crazy woman asked yet again.

"When will it get through to your head? That will most likely not happen," Tai replied. For once, Matt agreed with him. Even Tai had the sense to know when things like that won't work.

"At least try. It is imperative that you try."

"Why?" Matt's ears perked up. That was Sora. He flinched at her behavior. If she didn't feel like getting along with the others, then who's to say anyone else will?

"Fine, we'll try. Happy?" Izzy spoke up. Matt knew that the redheaded computer nerd only wanted the answers.

"Sincerity is an important part of life, Izzy. It surprises me that you don't know how to be sincere." He looked towards Izzy, who seemed baffled at his observation. The genius had no words. This moment should really be documented.

"I would. I'll put everything aside," he was surprised to hear Mimi pipe in. They locked eyes for a moment. She raised her eyebrows at him as if saying 'you need to back me up'.

His throat felt dry as he cleared it in order to acquiesce to her request. "I think she's right."

"Of course you would," Sora muttered under her breath. He knew that she didn't mean for him to hear her. But he did nonetheless.

He narrowed his eyes at the Digidestined of Love. "It's the only way we're going to get some kind of an answer. You have a better idea?"

"Yeah. We could just not save the Digital World," she retorted. He was taken aback by her response. If she didn't feel like working with him just to save the Digital World, then all hope was truly lost. When the Digidestined of love doesn't even _like_ you, it hurts.

"And why is that, Sora?" Mimi inquired. At least he was on good terms with her.

"Because we're old! I mean, we're not little kids anymore running around without anything better to do. We have jobs and other adult things to worry about. Shouldn't there be at least a new Digidestined to take our place? Well…to take Davis's team's place? Since technically we were relieved years ago?"

While she probably protested against him in order to spite him, Sora did have a point.

"Once a Digidestined, always a Digidestined, Sora. Do you not get that?" Davis stood up, challenging her. Whew. The guy had some guts; Matt would give him that. It wasn't everyday Sora fought with someone else. There's no telling what would happen if Sora were to fight everyone. Or just the people she detested. Which consisted mainly of him.

The telephone on Izzy's desk rang throughout the tense room. Izzy, who he assumed was too lazy to actually pick up the damn thing, pressed the speaker button.

"What is it, Brooke?"

"Sir, I tried calling your cell but you wouldn't pick up. Just wanted to remind you that you have a date with Michelle tonight."

If nothing else that transpired in the past few minutes got anybody's attention, _that _certainly did.

Izzy grumbled, rubbing his forehead. Matt watched as his eyes scan the room. "Just cancel it."

"But sir—"

"She'll understand. Say that a meeting held me up and I couldn't get out of it. Or just say that I don't feel like going out tonight. Whatever you like, just as long as it's polite."

"Are you sure, Mr. Izumi?"

"Yes," Izzy groaned. Matt felt himself glare at the nerd. Who gave him the right to just blow people off whenever he felt like it?

"Okay, see you tomorrow, Mr. Izumi." The phone clicked, signaling that the call was over.

"Dude…seriously?!" Tai shouted, waving his arms in the air. It seemed like this wasn't the first time it happened. Matt peeked at Mimi's reaction. She seemed stoic, not really giving way to what she was thinking at the moment.

"So…," Izzy started, getting back to the task at hand. Always the straightforward guy, huh? "Can you at least tell us your name?"

"Giselle," the crazy lady replied.

"What, like from Enchanted?" Davis spoke up. Enchanted? Isn't that like a princess movie or something?

"I have never heard of that movie. But sure," so-called Giselle answered him. This was getting better and better by the minute.

"Anyway," he saw Davis shake his head. "Sora, it's still our responsibility. Don't you care about Biyomon?"

"Of course I do, Davis! But seriously, we're pretty old to be doing this!"

"You're never too old to be a Digidestined, to save the world!"

"Just get over it and move on," he heard Izzy say and saw him placing his head in his hands.

Matt shouldn't have said anything. But he couldn't help himself. "You're one to talk."

The redhead lifted his head from the table and gave him a death glare. "Do you really want to start this now?"

He scoffed. "You know, you have always played the victim card. It's about time that _you_ stop doing that."

"Izzy isn't the perpetrator, Matt," Mimi warned him. He looked back at her. Her eyes could carry a thousand of threats if they could.

"Don't you get sick of him blaming you all the time, Mimi? If he's telling us to get over it, he should look in the mirror before he starts giving orders." Matt heard himself say. Even though he should have immediately regretted saying it, Izzy had no right anymore to keep blaming Mimi for his troubles.

"He should. It's my fault," Mimi whispered, but loudly enough so that the room could hear her.

"Oh, don't you dare play the 'I'm-the-one-who-did-everything' card, Mimi. Don't be self-righteous like that. You don't get to do that. You weren't the only one." Sora scolded her, and then she looked at Matt.

"Very mature, Sora," he replied. She wanted to point fingers? Then he'd point them right back. "You're the one who waited to tell Izzy what was really going on until it was convenient for you."

They didn't speak of the incident that much, but everyone else stood still and held their breath as they waited for Sora to reply.

But she didn't. Instead, Izzy had to speak up.

"You knew for how long?"

Sora glared at Matt. "Not very long, Izzy, it was just—"

"What, Sora? When?"

Matt smirked. Now that the heat was taken off of him and Mimi, he could relax a little. He decided to add something in. "See, Izzy? It wasn't just us at fault."

"Yeah, but what I did was so much worse," Mimi muttered. This time it was only Matt that could hear her. Did she actually want to go over this now? Why was she suddenly playing the 'I know I screwed up and everybody should blame me' card? Sora did things wrong too.

"I just…I didn't know how to tell you. And I didn't know if I should because you seemed so happy."

"Oh. Thanks. So I would've never found out if you hadn't been so concerned about your well-being," Izzy said sarcastically.

"My intention was always to tell you," was Sora's reply. He scoffed. Was it really? Probably not. Only when it was convenient for her.

"You know, I may have believed you years ago, Sora, but I don't think I do now. Sorry," Izzy said, shrugging, not really seeming to care one way or another. Everyone watched as he stood up and put on his blazer, buttoning it up in the process. What was he doing? He walked to the door and turned around to face them.

"When you all have this figured out or have an answer from her, call me."

"Izzy—" Sora started, but Izzy faced the door, opened it, and walked out. What did she expect to happen? Him to just forgive her like what she did was nothing? Although he could've stayed and helped them figure it out. He still thought Izzy was an ass.

"Yeah…maybe Izzy's right," Yolei conceded. Seriously? Just because the guy was right most of the time didn't mean he was right this time. "I mean, we're not really in the position or have the right attitudes to talk about this right now. How about we just meet up again tomorrow?"

"But we are running out of time," crazy lady protested. Matt rolled his eyes. If they were out of time, then why couldn't she just tell them what was going on? It would be much easier that way and save them more time.

"Then you should have told us what was going on sooner," Yolei cut in. As rude as Yolei was being, she still had a point. She was wasting everyone's time and energy on something that may or may not even be true. The Shadow King? That sounded fabricated anyway. The Digital World needs saving? Well, that doesn't…but still…she should get the point, right?

"You all go and think it over tonight. We'll meet again in the morning," crazy suggested. She suddenly disappeared from the room and Davis gasped.

"Where did she go?"

"Narnia," Mimi answered. Davis turned to face her in order to give the expression of 'that's obviously not where she went'. Mimi's hands went up in the air.

"This is…Izzy's office," T.K. spoke up for the first time. Matt looked at his little brother. So what?

It was as if T.K. was reading his mind when he said, "And he's not here to lock it, so…."

"It probably locks after its shut," Ken answered. He saw T.K. nod his head in an 'oh' fashion.

"We should go," Mimi stood up from her spot on the floor. Joe also gathered his belongings and started for the door. Matt cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

"Maybe we should discuss what she told us to."

"Oh _now_ you want to talk, Matt? No thanks," was the answer elicited from Tai. Sometimes, he believed that the bushy haired idiot just liked to disagree with him for the sake of it. That wouldn't help them in being productive.

"Look, I'm just going to go sleep on it," Mimi announced. Really? She wanted to bail too? "You should too, Matt."

"Thanks, Mimi," he heard Sora say sarcastically. "Maybe because you said it, he'll actually listen to you."

Instead of issuing a retort, Mimi shook her head and walked out of Izzy's office. Matt stared after her. Maybe it wasn't worth it trying to get the team together. Maybe Mimi had the right idea on walking out for now. Besides, she was the only one who was even remotely on his side, right?

Following his instincts, he walked out of the door, hoping to see Mimi around the corner. But instead, she was gone. That was fast. Someone scoffed behind him.

"Chasing after your girlfriend?"

He narrowed his eyes at Tai's sneer. "Ex. And no, I'm not. She's got a point. If you don't want to try to discuss this in a civilized manner, then maybe you aren't fit to be the leader of the Digidestined." Walking away, he smirked, knowing that Tai was gawking at his statement. He wasn't lying. If he wasn't willing to put his hatred for him aside, then maybe he really shouldn't be leading the team. He can't even mobilize himself to do the right thing.

* * *

"Izzy! Izzy wait up, will you?"

He turned around. Oh thank goodness he did. Mustering up the courage to speak with his piercing black eyes staring at her, Mimi forced herself to speak.

"I know I'm like the last person you'd like to talk to, let alone even see right now."

He raised his eyebrows as if to say 'why', and she really couldn't understand why he didn't hate her more than he did.

"I just wanted to apologize again. I'm so sorry, I—"

"That was years ago, Mimi. And honestly, it bears no relevance to what's happening right now. Did everyone finally sort everything out?"

"Well, no, but—"

"Then I don't actually have an interest in what you're going to say," he declared. Ouch. She knew that he wasn't acting out of spite, he was above that, but still, that hurt.

"I just…I wanted to see if you were alright after the whole Sora ordeal." She confessed. There was a long awkward pause, and she heard him sigh even though he was standing quite a few feet away from her. They've stood closer to each other before, and they've stood farther away from each other. But every single time she saw him, she couldn't feel anything other than a complete stranger regardless of whether they stood near or far from each other. He felt so far away—physically and emotionally.

Izzy ran his hands through his red hair. "Of course I'm alright. Why wouldn't I be?" Straightforward and void of emotion. The Izzy she knew before they became closer friends. In fact, when they first had met, she felt closer to him then than she did today.

"Okay. Well," she clasped her hands together though she didn't know why. "Just wanted to make sure."

"Alright then. Goodnight, Mimi." As he turned around to walk away, she could feel herself start to call his name. It seemed to have been said aloud and gotten his attention when he turned to face her again. "What else do you want?"

"Look," for the first time in a long time, she could feel courage surging through her. "I don't know where you stand on the whole 'friends' perspective. I'm not exactly sure how you're feeling, or how you're doing. I don't believe you when you say that what transpired all those years ago don't matter or you don't have any ill feelings towards it. I certainly don't believe you when you say you're okay."

During her pause, he looked confused at her sudden outburst. Mimi felt somewhat pleased with herself. It took a lot to confuse Izzy after all. Actually, no. Scratch that. With the matters of the heart it didn't take long to confuse him. But with anything else, it took a whole lot.

"I would like to be your friend again." It definitely was a scary thing to say, but the adrenaline from the 'saving the world thing' coursing through her veins gave her the extra push she needed in order to tell him that.

"Um—"

She cut him off. "I wanted to let you know that I consider you my friend, Izzy. And I wanted to ask for you to consider me yours too. It sounds silly, sure, but I assure you it isn't." Where did all this vocabulary sprout out? "Or, we don't have to start out as friends right away. We could be acquaintances, where we talk about the weather and the latest news and all that."

Great, now she was rambling. She even looked like more of an idiot in his eyes than she usually did.

"I'm not going to stop trying to become your friend, but I just wanted to tell you that you'll always be mine." It wasn't everyday that she got an opportunity to tell him that.

"Could we go grab a cup of coffee or something? Catch up? As friends? Or…or acquaintances?"

Pursing his lips, Izzy shook his head. "Goodnight Mimi," he said once again. This time, he quickly spun around and walked away.

Her heart deflated at his response.

It wasn't like she was expecting him to be like 'oh yeah totally, let's do it', but now she knew he viewed her as a weird, desperate person. Which she wasn't. At least they exchanged words, so that had to be something…right?

* * *

"Nothing is going to work," Yolei firmly stated. She was going to put her foot down on this. There was absolutely no way in which they could get the elder Digidestined to work together. And even if they did, their intentions would still not be sincere, and it would negate whatever that Giselle woman was saying about putting differences aside and being friends again. They haven't been friends for years; it wasn't like they were going to start now.

"And why won't it? Why are you being such a Negative Nancy, Yolei?" Her irritation level just increased. Davis shouldn't be talking. He's the one that brought Giselle to them in the first place.

As if reading her mind, he held up his hands in the air as a sign of surrender. "Hey, she found me. I didn't do anything."

A light bulb lit up inside her brain. Turning to Joe, she pointed her finger at him. "Do _you _know what happened?"

"To be honest…not really…," the aspiring doctor admitted. Yolei huffed. He was useless. Absolutely useless.

"Maybe instead of studying and trying to be successful, you should keep tabs on your friends!"

"He didn't do anything, Yolei," Cody spoke up, defending Joe. "Maybe we can ask Kari and T.K."

This time, it was Davis who shouted. "Are you crazy? Out of your mind? Insane? They can't be in the same room together."

"For once, the doofus is right," she nodded, agreeing with him. They might not battle it out audibly like Sora and Matt, but the tension that resonated between the two children—er, adults—of hope and light could be cut with a knife if she had one.

"Why not?" Cody asked, genuinely curious. "Did something happen between them too?"

"Did something happen between them too?" Davis mocked Cody, mimicking his actions in the process. "Of course it did! Man, you're just as useless as Joe is!"

"We're not getting anywhere." Joe declared. Yolei looked at him in disbelief. Of course they weren't getting anywhere. "What happened, Davis?"

She locked eyes with the leader of the New Digidestined. Sighing, Davis set his chin on his hands. "It was in high school, and…."

"_Go on. It'll be great." Davis encouraged T.K., pushing him towards the object of his best friend's affection._

"_I don't know…I don't want it to change anything."_

"_It can only change for the better, right?" He replied, negating any doubts T.K. had about what he was about to do._

"_And if it does?"_

"_If it does what?"_

"_Change it for the worse?"  
_

"_Then we'll deal with it when the time comes. You have my blessing."_

_The blonde scoffed, adjusting the hat on his head. "I never needed your blessing to begin with. You're not her brother, and you've never dated her." Suddenly, T.K. froze. _

"_What? What is it?" Davis decided to ask. What could be the matter now?_

"_I didn't clear it up with Tai."_

_He's right. Maybe he should've done that. But to heck with it, it'll be amusing once this all goes down._

"_Just forget about Tai. Go on." Nodding his head, T.K. walked towards Kari. As the two best friends started to talk, Davis smiled and patted himself on the back. He did a good deed. Now he's hungry. He'll wait for one of them to call him and tell him all about it._

"And?" Cody wondered, prodding Davis. Yolei looked at the googles guy as well. He can't just leave it off like that.

"That was all," Davis muttered under his breath.

"So what the hell was the point of that story?" she shouted at the top of her lungs. Beside her, Ken plugged his ears. Oops. Guess she was a little loud.

"To tell you what happened."

"Davis, that doesn't tell us anything," Joe groaned, falling back into his seat.

"Well, T.K. asked Kari out and Kari rejected him."

"What?!" Joe yelled while almost falling out of his seat. Yolei, however, was unphased.

"Wait, when was this?"

Looking at her, Davis replied, "Um…sophomore year?"

"But they were still pretty good friends up until junior year, right? So that's not all that happened." She knew what went on, but she didn't know this part of the story until now. Kari never told her this part.

"Well...a lot more happened is all I can say."

"Like what?" Cody prompted him. Ken glanced warily at Davis. It was at that moment Yolei wondered if any of the older Digidestined knew anything about this.

"I don't want to talk about it anymore. I got stuck in the middle. Sure, Yolei and Ken were there, but Yolei was mostly on Kari's side, and Ken didn't really have a side. Both of them came to me with their problems about each other, and I'd rather not relive that, thank you very much," standing up from the couch, Davis wandered into the kitchen, probably looking for something to eat.

Everything was dysfunctional. They should just call up Giselle, lie to her, and say that they sorted everything out. Maybe it was time that Yolei paid a visit to her idol. Get her to recount the events that led to everybody hating each other.

* * *

"So...I guess this is probably not the best time to sit down and talk about feelings, huh?"

Tai saw Sora look up from the book she was reading. Her hand patted the seat beside her on the couch. He saw this as an invitation to join her. Once he plopped down on the couch, he felt it jiggle a little bit. Looking to his best friend, he raised his eyebrows.

"Okay, what went down in there should not have gone as badly as it should have."

Shrugging, he remained indifferent to her assertion. "Are you talking about Matt or Izzy?"

He knew he struck a nerve when she threw up her hands in the air. "Matt can go and drown for all I care."

"That's harsh, Sora."

"Well, he's an ass." Biting his lip, Tai nodded his head vigorously. He couldn't disagree with that. Matt did a lot of things wrong. For a guy with the crest of friendship, he sure did burn down many, many bridges.

"That probably wasn't the best setting to hash things out."

He stared into her brown eyes. "Tai, there won't ever be a right setting to do that."

"Maybe. But I feel like we owe it to the Digital World, to our Digimon friends, to try and stop the impending doom that's going to befall them."

"Befall?" He could see her eyes light up with amusement as she smiled a bit. "How—"

"Ambassadorship has its perks."

"And Izzy…," she mumbled, barely loud enough to hear. He leaned in, trying to listen to what she was about to say.

"I am not at fault, here. Okay? I did what I thought was best at the time that I knew was best."

"Mm-hmm."

"Tai!"

"What?" Glancing at her, he started to chuckle. "Izzy didn't seem that fazed by it."

"Tai, he made an insult and then left the room."

"No, he made an observation…and then left the room."

"I'm serious, Tai."

"So am I."

She gave him a look that said she couldn't believe how difficult he was being at the moment. He put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"It wasn't not true, Sora. And I think you and I both know that. If you're feelings weren't clouded at the time, I think you would have told him right after you found out. But they were. And you might have waited because you had a lot on your mind, but at the same time, I think you know in your heart that you kind of used it to your advantage."

He could feel her relax underneath his fingertips and he knew that she agreed with him. "Doesn't matter. They got together anyway."

"Because they're selfish. They're selfish people." Adding to that, he decided to say, "Besides, Izzy's like this now."

Her eyebrows raised in suspicion. That's why the three of them should've gotten together more over the years. He felt guilty. He knew that getting together fell into the category of the things she regretted not doing after graduating high school.

"He's changed."

"You mean…he's an ass?"

Chuckling, Tai shoved her playfully. "Is everyone an ass to you?"

"Standing up that girl…that's an asshole move, Tai."

"When did you start cussing so much? This isn't like you, Sora. The real world sure has changed you." He grinned when he heard her laugh out loud. Once she did, Tai roared with laughter too. It's been too long since they've had some quality time together. This felt nice. As soon as Tai sobered up, he put on a serious face. This was serious business they were talking about.

"In his defense, there was a crazy lady in the room telling us to save the Digital World. He can't up and leave for a date."

"It felt like that wasn't the first time he did that though. And he also sounded unapologetic as well." Smiling, Tai shook his head. Sora had not changed a bit, and boy, was he glad for that. But Izzy…well that's a different story.

"He's been through a lot."

"High school doesn't count."

"That's not what I was referring to."

"Then what…?"

"It's not my place to say." He could feel Sora's eyes cut a hole through his skull. It really wasn't. Especially since Sora was probably not Izzy's favorite person right now. Though he did need to have a talk with the genius. The guy should really get his priorities straight. While Sora wasn't one to pry, she cares about Izzy. And she's right. What he did was kind of a jerk move.

"I'm not going to tell anyone."

"Maybe I'll tell you later. Probably when Izzy's cooled down about the whole thing."

"You said he didn't care."

"Didn't seem to. Doesn't mean that he didn't." To be frank, he didn't know what Izzy cared or didn't care about these days. Even though he and Izzy were on better terms than the rest of the group, it wasn't like he was a mind reader. The guy was more closed off than he had ever been—even more so than when he first met him.

"I should go talk to him," was her reply. That might be best. Besides, Sora and Izzy didn't really have a problem with one another. There's no point in starting one between them now. The sooner he can fix it, the sooner they might have a chance at defeating the Shadow King or whoever is wreaking havoc on the Digital World.

But…he shouldn't be talking. After all, like Sora, he hates Matt's guts. And Mimi's. Are there two people who actually don't hate each other right now? He needs to hate Matt's guts because of Sora. He has an obligation to hate Mimi's guts because of Izzy. They deserve all the hate in the world. But nothing's going to get accomplished if this was the mindset he put himself in. As the leader of the Digidestined, he should try to mend friendships, not rile them up even more.

Though he can't patch things up with Matt yet. Mimi…maybe. He should at least try to be the leader that he needs to be, right? He's willing to put aside his feelings. The only question remains is this: are the others?

* * *

Mimi missed the comfort of her couch. It was soft and plush—it contained everything she needed. Not that Hiro's couch wasn't comfortable. It certainly was…it just didn't have the homey feeling of her couch. But she had no choice. Her apartment was located in New York, and it wasn't like she could jet back there. Especially with Palmon and the others counting on her and the rest of the Digidestined.

But could they get their act together to help?

She highly doubted it.

"Mimi?"

"Uh…yeah?" Looking up, she saw Hiro cast a concerned look towards her. It touched her that he really cared. He was somewhat of a typical boyfriend—kind, caring, smart, sweet…not to mention he was the son of a famous entrepreneur in Tokyo. He was her type. He's like the other guys she dated. He's just not…

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Hiro. Why do you ask?"

"You seem distant lately."

She laughed his concern off, waving her arm around as she did so. "Work." She spit out, proceeding to take a sip from her glass of wine. "It's stressful, you know?"

He nodded in a comforting way, inching closer to her. She let him, and soon they were cuddling on his expensive couch. Not that the expensiveness of it mattered though. Was expensiveness a word? She breathed in his scent; the cologne he wore today smelled really well.

The whole reunion thing could have gone better, she supposed. Sora still hated her guts. Matt still hated Sora's. She was pretty sure Tai hated her as well, even though he didn't directly say anything to her. And Izzy…her exchange with him went as well as it could have. He didn't want to be friends? Fine. But she wasn't going to stop trying to let him know that she did care for him. She'll do the same with Sora, but after the Digidestined of Love has cooled down a bit.

"I love you, you know that?" Mimi sighed. Hiro could be so sweet at times. She smiled up at him before replying herself.

"I love you too." Though, for the first time in a long time since they've confessed those words to each other, her spoken reciprocation felt hollow. Here was Hiro: the ultimate "perfect" guy, the happy ending she had always envisioned for herself. Yet, it didn't feel right. Maybe it was because there was no one to share it with, she supposed. She really needed to patch things up with everyone. Then she could tell them all about the ups and downs of her serious relationship. And maybe then she won't feel so hollow. Maybe.

When did things get so screwed up? It didn't used to be this hard. She missed the days when their problems consisted only of running away from evil Digimon and finding someplace to bathe in the Digital World. Even finding a date for homecoming was easier than this. She winced when she thought of the dance that started their downward spiral towards hatred.

_Running her hands through her auburn hair, she sighed in frustration. It seemed like Matt didn't have any interest in going to the Winter Formal. Or maybe he did want to go…but with Sora. They have been awfully close lately. _

_Sitting down at their usual lunch table, she was surprised that she arrived first. Normally, she'd be one of the last ones to sit down and start eating. She heard the chair beside her scratch against the cold tile floor. She glanced back behind her to see who decided to grace her with their presence._

"_Hey," Izzy nodded a greeting at her. As he settled into his seat and took his lunch out, she examined him. _

_He probably felt her eyes on him because he locked eyes with her and scrunched his eyebrows in what she could only guess was confusion. "Is something wrong, Mimi?"_

_She leaned back in her chair and shook her head. She cleared her throat to fill in the space between them. "Nope. Not at all."_

_He looked skeptical. She smiled to ward him off. "Alright…then." He went back to his lunch and she was grateful that his attention was away from her. "Where are the others?"_

"_Hmm?" Mimi responded, looking back at her friend. He eyed her suspiciously. "I don't know. They aren't here yet."_

"_Obviously." She rolled his eyes at his bluntness. Mimi picked up her fork again in hopes of eating her food. She set it down. She wasn't hungry at the moment. Deciding to see what Izzy's godlike mother of a cook prepared for him, she peeked at his lunch. But her eyes were drawn to the genius himself, taking good portion of bites out of his food, very opposite of what Tai looked like when he ate. _

_She watched him and noticed his appearance. He was put together and well dressed. Sure, they had their uniform and it was standard for the boys to wear some version of it. Izzy, however, was decked out in the whole thing—tie, blazer, slacks, and dress shoes. He insisted it was because he wanted to look professional in school, but Mimi didn't care for the reason. It was a significant step up from the orange button down, beige shorts, and purple clown shoes he wore back in the day. As long as it made him look more fashionable, it was okay. _

_Besides his outfit, his physical appearance wasn't all too bad either. In fact, Tai claimed that the genius had a fan club that consisted of girls (not nerds, although there was one of that too) that fawned over him. They sure had a laugh that day. Izzy didn't believe it. To be honest, neither did she, but observing him now, she could see why._

_His red hair was neatly styled—probably to keep up his tidy and professional appearance__—not__ for fashion reasons. It spiked a little but not too much to appear unkempt and bedhead-like. But it wasn't flat and un-gelled either. If un-gelled was a word. His eyes were one of the best things about him, she noticed. It was like a pool of ebony…it was almost entrancing. _

_While he wasn't tan like Tai or French creamy colored like Matt, his paleness worked for him. He wasn't too pale or too tan._

_He was also lean, but wasn't made of twigs. There were muscles under there from the Digital World and from soccer. She learned recently that he liked to play golf as well. And from carrying computer parts around, he's sure to develop something. But he wasn't too beefy like he was on steroids or something. She liked that about him. _

_One thing she didn't like: his height. Who decided that he would be taller than her? He surpassed her height a couple of months ago, and it wasn't something that she particularly liked. She was always taller than him. And now she wasn't. She could wear heels to be the same height, or even surpass him by a couple of inches, but it wasn't the same._

_A plan formulated in her head. This just might work._

"_Izzy?"_

_After swallowing his bite, he regarded her in such a way that it made her feel like she was the most important person in the world. She shook the feeling off. _

"_How do you feel about the Winter Formal?"_

"_Um…fine? I'm not understanding the premise of your question."_

"_Do you want to go or are you opposed to it?"_

"_You know me. I was just going to spend that night finding bits of data that I need."_

"_Well, how would you like to go with me?"_

_At the time, he was drinking his beverage. He almost choked on it and spit it out. She pretended not to notice. "Um…excuse me?"_

"_Izzy Izumi…would you like to be my date to the Winter Formal?"_

_She took in his bewildered expression and leaned back in her chair in satisfaction. Izzy would be the key to her goal. It would show the object of her affection that she wouldn't be available for long. It was perfect. Besides, they were friends. He'd understand and help her out. And then she'd finally get the man she wanted. And her happy ending._

She was jolted out of her reverie by her boyfriend getting up from the couch. "I'm getting ready for bed. You coming?"

"Yeah. Yeah I am." If only she didn't do that. If only she wasn't selfish enough to even think of doing so. Things might be okay. Things might be the same.

Her legs felt like lead as she trudged up the stairs. She scrolled her phone, checking for new messages. A message popped up on her screen that piqued her interest. She didn't recognize the number, nor did she know what the message was about. She clicked on the touch screen, the glow illuminating her face.

_Not friends. Not acquaintances. A fracquaintance. Or acquiends. Whichever you prefer._

She made a mental list of who could've sent that cryptic message. Realization dawned on her as she read it over again.

For the first time that night, a genuine smile was brought to her face. She got through to him. Kinda. It wasn't much, but it was something. Though she was skeptical on why he decided to send this message. He didn't seem too keen on the idea when she brought it up. How did he know her number? Never mind…that was a dumb question. He could've hacked something, knowing him. A look of determination graced her features. If she could get Izzy to budge even just a little bit, she could get Matt and Sora to do so too. And she wasn't going to stop until they were all friends again.

* * *

**Whew. There we go. Some more revealed. Still somewhat of a mystery though. They've got to get their act together, huh? It's a whole big mess they've got themselves into.**

**Quick question: any thoughts on Digimon Adventure Tri?**

**If you have any questions or just want to talk about Digimon Tri or fanfiction, don't hesitate to send me a PM.**

**Any thoughts? More pieces of the puzzle are arriving soon! What are your theories or thoughts on what's going on here?**

** Reviews are greatly appreciated! Thanks for reading, and I hope you liked it in some way! What's working? What isn't? Let me know because I'd like to know haha. Thanks again! :)**


	3. An Unhappy Alliance

**Hello everybody! **

**I've finally written something after a pretty long time. Actually, this chapter has been sitting in my laptop for awhile now, it's just I haven't been happy with it. But I'm deciding to post it anyway. I hope you guys enjoy it - there should also be another new chapter coming soon! **

**Digimon Tri was amazing by the way! I have so many thoughts about it and yeah. But I should probably not include it here since that would take a lot of room. If you want to discuss tri, PM me or let me know in a review!**

**Thanks for reading!**

* * *

**Chapter 3 – An Unhappy Alliance**

* * *

T.K. struggled to put on the badge that the front desk gave him. He hated these clip on things. It could fall off at any moment and then what? He wouldn't have a badge on and security would see that and they'd be forced to walk him out. A ding echoed throughout the lobby. Fastening the badge on his belt, he waited patiently for the elevator doors to open.

"Hold it please!" T.K. heard someone call out. He held out his hand to stop the door from closing. It opened up once again and he was face to face with someone who he hadn't spoken to in an extremely long time.

Kari Kamiya.

Great.

"Uh…hey T.K."

He nodded his head to her in greeting as the doors to the elevators closed. He was hoping that someone else needed to take the elevator to get somewhere. His eyes darted around the lobby before the elevator doors closed, leaving the two of them alone. Seriously? No one else wants to come along for the ride?

"We're probably going to the same floor, huh?"

He smiled a bit, knowing that her sense of humor was still there. He glanced at her and noticed she had probably just gotten off work, if the paint stains on her hands were any indication.

"Yeah." He decided to finally speak up. "I wonder what's going to happen once we're all in there again."

"Ugh, don't remind me," Kari groaned, putting her hands on her face. He didn't blame her. This was going to be a heck of a conversation. The elevator doors opened once again and the two former Digidestined stepped out, walking to their destination: Izzy's office.

Surprisingly, it was pretty quiet once they entered the room. He squinted his eyes to check if he was seeing things right. Davis was actually early for once. Izzy was sitting at his desk, typing away. Tai waved to both of them whilst signaling them to come on in. Joe was with Cody, Ken, and Yolei. The purple haired Digidestined was the first to look up and she tugged on Ken's sleeve.

T.K. rolled his eyes. She really liked making a big deal out of nothing. He just bumped into Kari on the way here. There's nothing much that happened besides that. If she was looking to gossip, she should've glanced toward Mimi who slipped in right after they did. He did a double take. Where was she when he was on the elevator? The Digidestined of Sincerity was holding two coffee cups in her hand, and it certainly surprised him when she gave one of them to Izzy. The cup receiver, albeit surprised, nodded his head and quickly muttered thanks. What the heck happened?

He glanced towards Matt who was observing everything from the opposite side of the room. His brother had a scowl on his face from observing how the two interacted. Honestly, if you asked his opinion, he didn't think Matt had any right to hate Izzy. It should be the other way around. He didn't know why Matt was being so mean—why hatred for the guy seethed from his pores.

If he remembered correctly, Mimi wasn't even the girl Matt was pining for back in the day. So why the sudden hatred for Izzy? Was he jealous? It wasn't like the two were even friends at this point so what could explain Matt's behavior?

He leaned back against the wall and sighed. While cause and effect really piqued his interest (the drama that played out in their team and their actions and the consequences that resulted from that) he was pretty tired of all the hate radiating from everyone's soul. Dark? Yeah, it was, but he didn't know or have any other way to phrase it.

Davis stood up and cleared his throat. Everyone looked up at the sound. If anyone can get the team to buckle up, he hoped Davis would be able to do the trick.

"So…I guess there isn't really any room for small talk. I'm just gonna get straight to the point. Are we in or are we out?"

Before Matt could open his mouth, Davis interjected, glaring at the supposed Digidestined of Friendship. "And by in, I mean all in. Meaning we don't have time to sit around and argue. So when we're discussing battle plans and strategies, that means no snarky comments, no insulting remarks, no subtle shakes of the head, no backhanded statements."

The leader pointed his look at his brother, who seemed to be causing the most trouble since they came in. Matt raised his hands in mock surrender.

"See?! That's what I'm talking about. None of that." He pointed to the gesture. "We need to give each other respect. Otherwise, we aren't taking this battle on. There's no point. So Matt, to say it kindly, shut the hell up unless you want to be physically thrown out."

Matt looked taken aback by his comment. He glanced at T.K., motioning for him to say something. He could stand up to Davis and defend his brother. He shook his head in response. Davis was right.

His brother rolled his eyes and spoke up. "What about the rest? You say I'm the only one who does this? Izzy over there has been doing stuff like that ever since we met up yesterday."

"SHUT UP, MATT!" T.K. was definitely surprised at Davis' reaction. He rarely raised his voice. Even if he was upset. So to see that, well…that meant that he meant business.

"While we're all together, we treat each other with respect. I could care less about what you say about each other when we're not fighting, but when we're working as a team, that is what's going to happen. Does everyone understand?"

Reluctantly, everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

"So, I'm going to ask this one more time with the conditions in mind. Are you in or out?"

"I'm in," was Tai's response. The leader of the old Digidestined was proudly beaming.

"Me too," Mimi stood up, crossing her arms.

The bearer of Light, his ex-best friend also bobbed her head. "I'm in. Always." T.K. smiled a bit, knowing that even though they had their differences, he was glad that Kari hadn't changed.

"Let's do it. The worst thing that could happen is getting our butts kicked and tearing each other's throats apart, but why not?" Izzy commented, getting up from his place behind his desk. Davis glared at Izzy. "That was my only one. It'll stop."

"Good. Anyone else?"

"I'm all set and ready to go!" Yolei declared, punching her fist in the air. He scratched his head, laughing softly. She was always the dramatic one.

"Me too." Cody responded.

"Me three." Ken answered after him.

"I'm in too," T.K. decided to say. "I'll back you up every step of the way, Davis." The leader of the Digidestined nodded in determination.

"I want peace, so I'm in," Joe announced. Everyone then looked towards Matt, who he knew would be reluctant to do this and Sora, who he was surprised hadn't spoken up yet.

"Okay, let's do this." Sora said after a moment of silence and tension. T.K. wondered what thoughts were brewing in her mind. Sora used to be an easy person to read. Now he wasn't sure what she was thinking anymore. It was unsettling.

"Fine. I'll help," was Matt's disgruntled reply.

"Great!" Davis' perky voice could be heard throughout the office. "Let's go find this Giselle lady and let her know!"

* * *

As soon as he hit his bed, he instantly felt his eyes start to close. Shaking his head to get rid of the sleepiness, T.K. stood back up. It was an emotionally charged day that's for sure. He even exchanged a glance with Kari. Her brown eyes somewhat asking him to open up and let her back into his life again. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't. Not yet.

A knock. Someone was knocking at his apartment door, eager to be let in. He stepped out of his room and into the hallway. The kitchen switch was flipped open as he refused to do it when he first arrived. His eyes winced at the sudden light that filtered throughout the room.

The knocking turned into banging on the door. Turning the knob, he came face-to-face with his brother. He stepped aside, letting the elder Ishida enter his home.

"What are you doing here, Matt?"

"I was hoping I could stay with you, since I don't exactly live in Japan anymore."

"L.A. not giving the lavish lifestyle you wanted?" T.K. joked. He wanted to see his brother laugh again. He at least wanted to elicit some smile from the guy. Matt was a lone wolf—he didn't want to be bothered by others and preferred to keep things to himself. He didn't used to be like this, especially after their adventures in the Digital World. Something told T.K. that it was going to be awhile before he saw that Matt again.

"The band's stressed out," Matt acquiesced, confessing a part of his life that he hadn't known about since he was so closed off nowadays. T.K. wished the two were closer but they hadn't been very close since their days in the Digital World. "It might be the end of the road for us."

T.K.'s eyebrows rose in surprise. "Really?

He nodded. T.K. walked over to the refrigerator and took out two beers. He threw one at Matt. "I didn't think it was slowing down."

Matt drank a little then responded. "My career is over."

He didn't want to be mean. He didn't want to breach the topic, but it was time. "Is that why you've been such a jerk lately?"

The exact blue piercing eyes he had glared right back at him. "I haven't been a jerk."

Gathering up the courage to speak, T.K. gulped. "Yeah, you have."

The older brother narrowed his eyes. "How so?"

"You've been a jerk to Izzy and not to mention you threw Sora under the bus the other day. And you were disrespectful to Davis."

"Davis should mind his elders."

"Davis is the leader of the Digidestined."

"Tai is."

"You've always had a problem with Tai being the leader. Now you want to state that he is?"

"I'm not being a jerk."

"Matt!" T.K. raised his voice a little bit. It seemed to startle his older brother. "You _are_. The only one that you aren't a jerk to is Mimi, and for the life of me I can't figure out why. I can't figure you out. I can't figure out why you care so much about Izzy and Mimi's interactions. I can't figure out why you hate Izzy when really, he isn't the one to blame. You didn't used to be like this, Matt. _Why_? What happened?"

"Izzy shouldn't keep victimizing himself. It's tiring."

"He wasn't. That's the thing, Matt. All he did was step out of the room professionally. Sure, he made some comments about his dislike for you and he was also sarcastic at times. But other than that, he didn't do anything else. Everything already somewhat blew over until you had to mention the whole Sora thing."

"Well, I thought he'd like to know."

"Yeah, to get him riled up."

"T.K., what right do you have to talk about this?"

"If it's affecting the team's performance, and my relationship with you, so yeah I have a right to talk about it." He said, not budging from his spot. He wanted to know what the problem was. He wanted to help.

"Are you jealous of Izzy and Mimi?"

"Did you see the way she brought him coffee this morning?"

"What does it matter to you? Why do you care?"

"He might hurt her like he's hurt that girl he stood up."

T.K. shook his head. While he was concerned and surprised that Izzy pulled a move like that, he wasn't about to go thinking up theories about it. Even though Matt and him weren't that close anymore, Matt was the only other person in the Digidestined besides Davis that acted remotely like a friend. It was disconcerting how disconnected he felt from the rest of them.

"Yeah I agree that was an ass move and it isn't like Izzy to do that. But he wouldn't hurt Mimi. It's beneath him to do so. And we were in the middle of talking to Giselle when it happened. Besides, I'm pretty sure they're not getting together romantically. If their friendship is coming back, I'd like it to. I'm all for it. It's been a long time since people have been friends around here."

"Oh like you and Kari?"

"Don't you dare bring her into this, Matt."

"I'm just saying, you speak of friendship but you can't even redeem yours?"

"That's a low blow."

"And what, you have the right to lecture me on this?"

That's it. He had enough of the attitude that was hurled towards him. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fist. "I might not. But _you_ certainly don't have the right to lecture _me. _You hold the Crest of Friendship, but you aren't worthy of it. You're not playing to your strengths, Matt. And if you don't have the one strength that can help, you're completely useless."

Matt blinked in return. He hadn't been expecting that from him, huh? Matt stood up, walked towards him, and then jostled his shirt. He drew back his clenched fist. T.K. stood, ready for the punch that awaited him.

"Go ahead. Do it, Matt." He closed his eyes, ready for the punch that was about to come.

But there was no blow. After a couple of minutes waiting, T.K. opened his eyes. Slowly, Matt put his fist down and released his shirt. T.K. patted down his clothing, spreading it out to keep his shirt from wrinkling. For the first time since he last saw him, T.K. could see pain and discomfort and a hint of apology in Matt's eyes.

He watched as Matt put a hand to his forehead, cursing himself. He decided to go and pat Matt on the back, give him a bit of comfort when Matt stepped away from him.

"I almost hurt you."

"It's okay. You're slightly inebriated anyway."

"No. I'm not a lightweight. I've barely had anything to drink, T.K. I—I…I'm sorry."

For once, the pain in his brother's eyes could be fully seen; it was startling to say the least. He wasn't even like this when he and Mimi broke up.

"Hey look. It's okay. It's fine. Just shake it off." Whatever was bothering Matt seemed to be running deep within his veins. T.K. wondered if there was a chance he could go back in time and fix things so it didn't have to be like this. Matt ran his hands through his hair and started towards the couch. T.K. followed him.

He leaned his head against the sofa as Matt did the same. They sat in complete silence before T.K. breached the topic again.

"You never loved Mimi. Why care so much? She was never the one that you were in love with."

Softly, came Matt's response. "I know."

"Then why…?"

"Honestly? I don't know."

T.K. knew he hadn't been happy all these years. It had been probably about ten years since he was truly happy. Ten years. That was a long time to stew over things. He and Mimi dated for about five years—from senior year in high school to the end of college—before breaking up. It was a long time. And he wasn't happy for any part of it.

"Perhaps there's a part of you that feels obligated to care?" He offered an answer to his older brother, but just got a head shake in response.

"If that's true, why do I feel obligated then?"

A light bulb went off in T.K.'s head. "Maybe you just feel obligated because you guys dated for so long. It's understandable. You don't want to see her get hurt." He waited for Matt to reply, but all one could hear was silence throughout the room.

A part of him liked to believe that his brother loved Mimi. But another part of him always knew that he couldn't because his heart belonged to another. How sappy that sounded, he wasn't sure, but he liked to be a romantic. In a family where divorce prevailed and his older brother wasn't much of a sounding board for romance, T.K. believed that he was a romantic, an opportunist. He was happy in his current relationship. Ayumi was the one for him. She always pushed him to believe in the impossible, to believe that he could become the best writer he could someday. He hoped Matt could find what he found in Ayumi.

"I guess…I'm channeling what I wish I could show towards Sora into what I know I'm allowed to feel towards Mimi."

This definitely sparked T.K.'s interest. He sat up, eager for answers. He hadn't talked about Sora in a long time, but he's bringing her up now.

"Look…I know I don't know the whole story…but why didn't you just get together with Sora back then if she's the one you love?"

"I don't love Sora."

"It's been obvious that you kind of do. Why are you still resisting it?"

"I don't."

"Matt…."

The rock star snapped. "I don't okay?"

He chose to stare back at his brother with a challenging look on his face. The look that was on his face must've surprised Matt, because Matt gave him somewhat of a surprised and yet defeated look in return. Feeling his eyes dry up, he blinked them quickly. He's never been able to stare down Matt like that, but he's glad he did this time. He feels somewhat powerful now.

"Because I lost my right to feel for her that way a long time ago, T.K.! It's done. It's over with, I can't go back."

"But you can make amends."

"That'll get me nowhere."

"It's a start." He shrugged. From all the time he spent with them as a couple, he knew that Matt and Mimi's relationship was just a fallacy, a resignation of sorts because they screwed up the relationships in their lives. He believed that Matt didn't love Mimi, and he knew that Mimi didn't love Matt because she told him so. He didn't know the whole story, but he was proud that he knew that much.

"You can try to patch things up. With Izzy, first and foremost. And then with Sora. You've got to stop letting everyone believe that you've been in love with Mimi all this time because it isn't true. You have to fix this, Matt. It's what a true friend would do."

Matt sighed. "I can't fix my friendship with Izzy. It's too late. What I did…what we did…I went behind his back and its unforgivable. And for what? Because I thought stereotypically that they shouldn't be together?"

"You and Mimi both played a part in this. You both should fix it." T.K. was surprised in how much Matt was talking. Maybe it was the beer. Maybe it was his guilt from the almost punch. Maybe it was because he didn't have anybody else to talk to. Maybe it was just because he was truly tired…of all of this.

No matter what, he was going to help his big brother fix this.

"And Sora…she'd never fully be able to forgive me."

T.K. shook his head. "I think you're underestimating yourself." From what he heard from Tai about Sora's relationship woes, he was beginning to think that Sora wasn't just hurt by the fact that Matt and Mimi got together. He believes she was hurt because she was truly in love with Matt. But he didn't see it.

Of course, T.K. doesn't know where Sora stands now, of course. But as the Bearer of Love, he hopes and he knows that she can forgive Matt. Clearing his throat, he added, "Plus, there's a really good chance she'll forgive you before she forgives Mimi. That I know for sure."

Matt chuckled a bit. "Mimi really ruined it with Sora."

"See? I'm sure it'll be easier for you to make amends with Izzy than it is for Mimi to restore her friendship with Sora."

Matt hummed, musing.

"And…," T.K. stated. "It's time to truly use that Crest of Friendship, you have. It's your strongest quality. We need it for the upcoming battle."

"Fine," he acquiesced. "But don't expect all of us to be great buddies just yet."

"Oh and don't forget Tai. Whatever hatred that's going on between you two needs to stop."

T.K. watched as Matt took a pillow and covered his face with it. He could hear the groan of despair that came out of that mouth.

Smirking, Matt lifted his head and looked at T.K. "Only…only _if_ you do the same with Kari."

The former Digidestined of Hope groaned. Great. _That's_ definitely going to suck.

* * *

If they were going to fight against the Shadow King, T.K. wondered whether or not they'd meet up with their Digimon again. He missed Patamon. It had been quite a while since they had talked.

Tossing and turning in bed, he sat up. He couldn't sleep. For Matt to make amends with everyone else, he had to restore his friendship with Kari. Which wasn't exactly an easy thing to do, especially since he shut her out of his life a long time ago.

He was _such_ a hypocrite. It sickened him.

Leaning back, he remembered the conversation that started the downfall his relationship with Kari.

"_Kari! Kari, I need to talk to you!" He called out, waving to his best friend as he ran up to her._

"_See you later guys, I'll call you after practice." He watched as she waved goodbye to her friends and then turned to him. Great! Her attention is all his. Now if he could only muster up the courage to say what he was going to say._

"_I, um…, well I….was wondering if you'd like to go to the park with me. Take a walk or something. I have a lot of stress about homework and tests and school that I need a break. And I can't do it without my best friend," he chuckled nervously._

_She laughed, swatting his arm. "Of course, T.K. Let me just tell Tai where we're going and then we can head out."_

"_Great. That sounds great." He replied. She smiled at him before taking out her cell phone. Once she was talking to Tai, he started trying to calm himself down. Relax. She's your best friend, and the worst that could happen is her letting you down gently. But the chances of that happening are pretty slim—according to the others—you guys were made for each other._

_Hope and light all the way._

"_Sounds good," he heard her say. "I'll see you at home." Her cell phone snapped shut. She looked up at him, and he smiled back down at her. "We're all set. You ready?"_

_He nodded. "Definitely."_

Taking a basketball from his closet, he bounced back on his bed and threw it around, catching it whenever gravity pulled it back down to Earth. His blue eyes glazed as he felt the familiar shape of the basketball in his hands.

There was no way he could make amends with Kari. He wasn't ready. He doesn't know if he'll ever be ready.

"_So, is something bothering you?" She inquired an hour later after walking around in the park for a bit. They went to the lake, watched the ducks in their natural habitat, and now they were looking at the cherry blossom trees that had seemed to bloom over the past couple months._

"_What? No. Nothing's bothering me."_

"_Well you said that you were stressed out, so I thought that something was."_

"_I just have something to say," he decided to say boldly. She looked at him, surprised at the determination she heard through his voice. She knew him very well. She knew when something bothered him, and she knew when he was just content with what was going on in his life. _

_It was one of the many things he loved about her._

"_I, um…I…"_

"_Yeah? T.K., you can say anything you want you know. It's not like anything's going to change."_

_But it will, he thought. It might destroy our friendship. It might bring things to a better level. "It is."_

"_Unless you're moving to Antarctica, it isn't," she promised. "We'll always be us."_

_I hope so. Here goes._

"_I…I wanted to see if you wanted to go out sometime."_

_She chuckled a bit. "T.K., we're already outside."_

"_No, not out. Um. out. As in, a date out," he asked quietly and nervously._

_Kari looked taken aback. She seemed surprised. Meanwhile, he was sitting there, sweating it out like a pig. He was nervous. _

"_Will you go out on a date with me? Not as friends, but romantically?"_

"_T.K…."_

"_Yes?"_

"_I…I can't. I'm sorry."_

_And just like that, his world fell apart. What? They were perfect for each other. _

"_Look, it's getting late. I should probably go." With that, she squeezed his arm and left the park. Tears didn't sting his eyes just yet. He was still in shock. They were supposed to be perfect for each other, so why turn him down?_

_It was supposed to be hope and light all the way._

It was supposed to be hope and light all the way. That was his thinking back then. Not only did she turn him down once, but she also did it three times.

The second time he confessed that he was in love with her.

The third time he told her that she was the only one he could see a future with—she was the only one he could see marrying, having kids with, growing old with.

He supposed he probably scared her with those last two. He didn't just destroy his friendship. He also humiliated himself in front of her. So yes, while he kind of resented her for rejecting him, he also resented himself for obliterating his dignity.

Plus, that was one of the reasons why Tai and Matt weren't speaking. Why their friendship was also finished as well. Matt stood up for him while Tai stood by Kari's side.

Not to forget that he ruined Davis and Kari's friendship too. Davis took his side in the matter and hated Kari from then on. He thought that Davis would take Kari's side, since the guy had a crush on her in middle school but that wasn't the case. Davis showed true friendship to him then. Yolei took Kari's side. He still spoke to Yolei, but it wasn't the same.

From one confession doled out many consequences. And it's because of that why he's hesitant to make amends with Kari. It won't fix everything.

He didn't know the other reasons as to why Matt and Tai hated each other. He didn't know what went on between Izzy, Sora, Mimi, Matt, and Tai. He couldn't fix those things. They probably weren't problems that he could fix.

But he remembered his words from earlier. The ones that he had spoken to Matt. The ones that have bearing and that are true. It is those words that made him hope again, and it is those words that'll help him and everyone else figure out their problems and stand up to the Shadow King.

_It's a start._

* * *

"The Shadow King waits. He waits and he waits until the right time comes."

"Waits for…?" Izzy prodded, trying to get an answer out of the old woman.

"He waits. He just waits."

"For…?" Another question was heard from the genius, which Giselle just decided not to pay any attention to.

For what? The right time to strike, that was apparent. T.K. couldn't help but wonder _when_ was the right time. She had yet to tell them more about who this mysterious Shadow King was. He had so many questions. Why did he call himself the Shadow King? Or was that name just given to him?

Giselle turned to Davis. "It is time to understand the lines and the parallels between love and hate, envy and kindness. Otherwise, you will all be doomed to fail."

That didn't sound ominous at all. The noise coming from Izzy banging his head on the desk echoed throughout the room. He glanced up at the mysterious old lady who swooped in and while she told them of danger in the Digital World, she wasn't really much help in the department of details.

"The Shadow King feeds on emotions of hatred, disgust, jealousy, sadness, and anger. As long as you aren't working together with some sort of a civilized alliance, he will just keep getting stronger and stronger. His power will grow until there's no way that he can be beat."

"So…basically you're saying that we'll beat him if we become friends again? That's it?" Izzy deadpanned. T.K. wasn't convinced. The solution sounded easy, but with the way they were behaving around one another, it didn't seem likely that it would come around anytime soon.

"You have to utilize the power of your crests and your digi-eggs," Giselle continued. "You can't give in to the opposite of your quality. That's exactly what he wants you to do."

"Sounds pretty easy enough," Cody chipped in. He sighed. If only Cody knew the half of what everyone was going through…that definitely wouldn't be the words coming out of his mouth.

Giselle surveyed the room with an all-knowing look. "I sure hope so, Mr. Hida. With that knowledge, I leave you for now."

The woman disappeared into thin air, leaving everyone confused.

So they were supposed to—what, get along? That's it? Surely they could manage that….

The air around them was filled with silence. Nobody dared to move and he was pretty sure everyone was afraid to speak. Well that's just great. It seemed like the only two options they had were fighting or sitting in silence. But what could he say? He didn't have anything to add to the imaginary conversation.

Hopefully Tai had something to say. Peeking at the leader in question, he then realized that no one would speak up anytime soon. Not even Davis who always had something to say. No one seemed inclined to motivate or inspire anyone. They were all frozen in space and time and—he stopped himself. He really needs to stop getting carried away with all of his wandering thoughts that he could put in a book one day. He was an English major, not a novelist—yet.

Mimi sighed loudly. "Can't we do this then? I know it won't be the easiest thing ever, but hey, the situation could be a lot worse."

No one answered her, choosing instead to do anything but make eye contact with her.

She continued. "For those who don't really want to do this, at least if we get through it, it'll be over faster."

He hoped that wasn't what Matt was pining for. If their conversation last night didn't do anything, he wouldn't know what else to do. Besides, deep down he knew that they couldn't pretend their way out of this. Plus, there was something that Giselle wasn't telling them about the Shadow King. His fingers fidgeted in his lap. He was sure that working together and putting their differences aside was only one step in the whole thing.

"Why not?" Surprisingly, Izzy answered her. "It's not like we have anything else to lose. Though the old lady really didn't give us anything to go on. She was pretty much useless."

Davis shot a glare at Izzy to which the computer genius sheepishly backed away. T.K. sighed. His sarcastic remarks weren't going to get them anywhere that's for sure.

"I'm in," Kari responded. Remarkably, the rest followed after her lead, Matt included. It wasn't a happy or a willing alliance by any means. But they were getting somewhere, he supposed.

"If you'll excuse me," Izzy announced, standing up from his chair. "I have a meeting to get to."

After Izzy left there wasn't any point in staying there. They'd figure out a plan later. One by one, they followed, exiting the building. T.K. stood up from the carpet and held the door open for the next person that was behind him. His footsteps led to the elevator, and then down the escalator. But as they were walking out, T.K. felt a tap on his shoulder.

"I hope we can work together on this?" Kari inquired, with a hopeful expression on her face he noted.

There were many thoughts that went through his mind at that moment. He considered telling her that they were just going to get along for the course of this battle. Or that he'd work together with her just for the sake of the Digimon and for the Digital World and nothing else. But he remembered his conversation with Matt. There was something in him that desired to make it work. Not just their alliance, but also their friendship.

Somebody had to make a move, an effort, to restore their friendship. And Kari is trying. So perhaps he should try too. The fallout happened years ago. Maybe it was time to put the past behind. Maybe it was time to forgive and forget. Maybe they were all brought together for a reason. He had to take his own advice—the advice he'd given Matt—or else he'd be a hypocrite.

There was something in Kari's light brown eyes that he knew he lost sight of. _Hope_. It had been awhile since he'd seen it in someone else or himself. Let bygones be bygones. He highly doubted things would return to the way they once were, but he supposed he should try.

If he gave her the cold shoulder or said some insulting things, he wouldn't be better than the rest of them. He might even give her the satisfaction that he refused to give her long ago. He didn't want to give her the satisfaction knowing that she had hurt him. He wouldn't say she ruined his life, but she might've burnt out that hope he had burning inside of him. But he couldn't—he wouldn't let her know that's what she really did to him. He had to let her know that he was happy with his life…that her rejecting him was one of the best things that ever happened to him. He can't do that if he shuts her out.

Taking a deep breath, he gave her the response he knew she wanted to hear. "Yeah, Kari. I think we can."

* * *

**Thank you again for reading and I hope you guys liked it! Please let me know your thoughts about it (or Tri or anything) in a review or a PM! :)**


	4. Tales Unfold

Hi everyone - those who haven't given up on this story yet and to those who may be new readers, hi! My schedule's been pretty hectic, so I haven't been able to proofread this chapter until now. This chapter has actually been sitting on my laptop for quite some time, I just haven't been completely satisfied with it. But now, I kinda liked how it turned out, so here it is!

A huge THANK YOU to those who reviewed last chapter! I appreciate your feedback, and you guys are the reason that I'm still updating this story. I hope you like this chapter!

* * *

Chapter 4 – Tales Unfold

* * *

Yolei squinted her eyes as she raced up the steps. She was tired of being in the dark of those she considered her friends. She must've seemed angry because she suddenly felt Ken's hand on her shoulder. Unconciously, she snapped. "What?!"

Luckily for her, he didn't back away. They knew each other better than anyone else. His hand still rested on her shoulder. "Yolei, we shouldn't pry."

She narrowed her eyes, putting her hands on her hips. "And why not?"

"Because prying won't do any good for the rest of them. Or us for that matter."

"They're our friends, Ken. We can't just stand by while both worlds are in danger and listen to everyone bicker and fight all the time."

"Oh yeah? And who's going to talk to you?"

"What do you mean?"

Ken sighed and retracted his hand. It fell limp by his side. "Who are you going to get the whole story from?"

Yolei pursed her lips. Ken beat her to it before she could answer. "I doubt Kari and T.K. would give you anything to go off on. They're too private."

"But they're our friends."

"But what happened between the two of them is private. Besides we basically already know the story. Davis is a good source of information after all. He's been the bridge between the two of them since that happened."

Yolei sighed in exasperation. Ken continued, "And who else are you going to ask? Matt? Sora? They're the same way."

"I could ask Izzy," she huffed.

"Oh yeah," he nodded. "Go and ask the guy who always hasn't given anything away about his personal life. Because that's always a great plan."

"I don't need you to be sarcastic," she snapped at him.

"I'm not. I'm being realistic."

As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. Izzy was definitely not going to tell her anything. What about Tai? Or Mimi? She didn't know Tai that well enough to ask, but Mimi on the other hand, she wasn't as close with her as she was before. She wasn't as close with Kari as she was before. Nor was she with Sora.

"If I could help, maybe Tai would tell me." She settled on that. "He does want what's best for the team after all, right?"

She could she her boyfriend hesitate to answer. She wasn't sure if Tai would be one to divulge personal information about his closest friends, but she figured it couldn't hurt to give it a shot. She had to know what was going on.

* * *

"Absolutely not."

Yolei glanced on in despair as the leader of the Digidestined stared down at her.

"You're kidding."

"No. Actually, I'm really not."

"But Tai—"

"I'm sorry, Yolei, but it's not my place to tell you what went down. Besides it involved me too and I don't want to talk about it. If I don't wanna talk about it, who else would?"

"Tai, it's for the good of our team. We need to try and fix things."

"_We _need to start acting like adults." He responded, not budging from his stance on the subject. She glared at him again. When did he care about the privacy of others? The last she heard, he was pretty nosy into everyone's business.

She narrowed her eyes. "And if you don't tell me what's going on, you really aren't acting like an adult, aren't you?"

He shrugged in return. "I told you, Yolei. It's not my place to tell."

"Can't you tell me your side of the story at least?"

This got him to thinking for a moment. Her breath caught in anticipation. The wind blew around them—picking up leaves and swirling them about as it came and went. She shivered. It was getting cold after all. Fall was beginning. And hopefully, the mending of friendships can begin too. If only Tai could tell her what was going on. They were sitting on a park bench. He agreed to meet with her after she called; she didn't tell him why because she knew he wouldn't come if she did. But it's not like sitting in silence was better either.

After what seemed like ages, he finally answered her. "Okay."

Her eyes lit up, and she felt giving all of her attention to him, eager to know the secrets of the past.

He sighed and looked far off into the distance. "I hate Matt. And I hate Mimi."

That didn't give her anything. "But why?"

"Because of what they did to Sora and Izzy. Look, Yolei, those two are my best friends. And what happened hurt the both of them deeply. I can't just forgive Matt and Mimi for what they did."

Yolei nodded, understanding that he probably wouldn't tell her exactly what happened, but this is a start at least.

Tai opened his mouth, continuing to speak. "I was in love with Sora at the time. So I guess the fact that she was hurt by the both of them really affected me and it made me really angry. I couldn't talk to either of them for the longest time. We even graduated high school without saying that much to each other."

"If you don't mind me asking…," Yolei started, trying to choose her words carefully. "Are you still in love with Sora?"

Instead of answering he deflected with, "She's getting married to some other guy."

This definitely got her attention. "What?! No way?"

Tai laughed. "Yeah. He's made her really happy by the looks of it."

Then she noticed a change in Tai's eyes. His stare suddenly got dark as if he resented everything that happened. "She didn't deserve what they did to her back then. So it's hard for me to look at either of them without getting incredibly angry. It's not something that's fixable."

Yolei was surprised at this. Was it really that bad? "It's not?"

He ran his hands through his messy brown hair. His usually playful chocolate eyes lightened up a bit. "I mean, what happened was petty looking back on it, but I'm not sure if the friendships are fixable. Though for the fate of the Digital World, I'd put aside my feelings and I'm willing to sort things out. Try and fix things that have a chance at being fixed, you know?"

"Really? Tai Kamiya, wants to be the peacemaker?"

He laughed at that. "It's what being an ambassador does to you, Yolei. I think Mimi would be easier to get along with nowadays. She's at least making an effort. Matt on the other hand is just…an ass."

She supposed she couldn't disagree with that. Mimi, from the looks of things, wanted to mend stuff. Matt didn't seem like he wanted anything to do with anybody.

Yolei wondered if Tai still did love Sora. She didn't know if anything happened between them, but regardless, it didn't seem like he was over her quite yet. He talked like someone who put aside his own feelings and sacrificed what he felt in order to bring happiness to the person he loved. She supposed he wanted Sora to have a life outside the Digidestined.

The answers she got from him were pretty vague. But it kind of gave her an outline of the events that had transpired in the past.

* * *

The next person that might give her any indication as to what went on and the person she's been wanting to catch up with all this time was hopefully inside the apartment. Her idol. The apartment building that Mimi was currently living in seemed extremely luxurious. Knocking on the door, she hoped she could get some answers out of her.

The person in question opened the door, blinking her eyes at Yolei. She seemed surprised. "Oh hey, Yolei. What's up?"

"I wanted to come and talk to you if you don't mind."

The response Yolei gave must have been a little too straightforward because Mimi looked taken aback. "Um, okay." She stepped aside, opening the door wider for Yolei to come in.

Glancing down at her watch, Yolei realized that she didn't have that much time to make small talk. So instead of beating around the bush, she decided that it was best to be upfront about what she came here to talk about. They were both keepers of sincerity after all. If anything, Mimi should appreciate it.

"I want to know what the heck happened in high school that propelled everyone's inability to talk to each other."

"Yolei—"

"I want to piece things together. I'm a part of this team too you know. And the fact that no one is really letting the rest of us know what's going on is really hurting our chances of saving the world."

The elder girl sighed, sitting down on the couch. She beckoned for Yolei to sit as well. As soon as the two were seated, Mimi started uttered one word that gave Yolei hope that maybe something was fixable.

"Fine."

"Whoa, really?"

Mimi seemed to rethink her decision. Yolei regretted opening her big mouth. "At least my side of the story anyway. I don't think it would be fair to the others to tell you everything."

"Since when does people respect others' privacy on this team? That was never a thing!" Yolei found herself screaming, frustrated.

Mimi chuckled a bit, holding her hands up in surrender. "It matters when you're trying to patch things up with everybody. I mean, I don't think the others would be too pleased that I told their side of things."

"So you're not going to tell me what you did?"

The original keeper of sincerity mulled over the question. "I guess it wouldn't hurt. Especially since I'm the one who did it. I can't speak for the others."

"Okay…so what did you do?" Yolei hoped that Mimi wouldn't say she committed a major crime because she didn't think they could bounce back from that.

"I liked Matt a lot back then."

Honestly, Yolei didn't see where this was going and she didn't feel like drawing conclusions. She knew Mimi noticed that she didn't get how that related to everything so the story continued.

"I wanted to date Matt, but I wasn't sure of how to get his attention. It was…somewhere else." Yolei wondered what she meant by that but didn't have time to digest it as Mimi went on. "So I formulated a plan that if executed correctly, I could get his attention and get him to date me."

"So it went wrong?"

Mimi shook her head. "I wish it did. But everything fell into place perfectly, I suppose. It was the consequence of what I decided to do that concerns our problem today."

"So what was the plan?"

Mimi took a deep breath. Yolei could tell she looked uncomfortable telling the story, but she had to know what was going on. The elder girl continued to explain. "The plan was to make Matt jealous. I needed someone to do that. And the person I used to make him jealous was Izzy."

_Oh. _So that's what that was. "And he found out?"

"Yeah. At the winter formal. I asked Matt to do a duet with me for the winter formal so that we could spend more time together. Izzy didn't find out until we were at the winter formal after Matt and I did our duet."

Yolei did have a question though. Where did Sora fit into all of this? She hadn't heard Sora's name in the story once yet.

"It basically ruined our respective relationships with Izzy. It was never the same after that."

"And Sora?" Yolei prodded. "I know she was a huge part of this too, but I can't figure out where she fits into all of this.

"You're smart, Yolei. I'm sure you'll put the pieces together sooner or later," Mimi gave her an answer, not one she was hoping for, but it'll have to do for now. "Let's just say that I made a huge mistake by putting a prospective boyfriend over my best friend. It was something that wasn't worth ruining our friendship for."

"So was Izzy hurt by you using him that's it? Or did he really have any kind of romantic feelings for you?" Yolei decided to ask. She waited, and her idol didn't respond quite so quickly this time.

"That I can't say. Not because I don't know the answer, but because it's not my place to say. You're going to have to ask him that."

"But he probably won't tell me."

"Most likely not."

The two sat in a comfortable silence for a bit. Yolei pondered what Mimi had just told her. The pieces of the puzzle were coming together…the only thing missing was Sora. And Izzy's side, but she highly doubted he would tell her anything. Mimi cleared her throat, causing Yolei to jolt out of her thoughts.

"I want to fix things. I want to be friends with them again. That's why I'm not going to stop until we are."

And that was one of the things she admired most about Mimi. Even though she hurt a lot of people, at least she owned up to it and was willing to do anything to fix it. "Why fix it now though?"

"Hmm?"

"You've had all this time to fix it. Why are you choosing now?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Mimi sat with an air of defeat on the couch. "I tried to fix it back when we were in high school. But it didn't work. Neither of them wanted anything to do with me, which was understandable. And I guess right now's the best time because they can't exactly shut me out if I try. Time gives you a bit of perspective I suppose. I know I should've tried harder before, but I am now. And I hope that's all that matters."

"I hope you guys can sort things out and mend everything." Yolei spoke with the utmost sincerity she can gather.

But Mimi surprised her with her next comment. "And I hope you'll be able to help us get there."

* * *

After telling her findings to the others, they just sat there, somewhat dumbfounded. Cody looked unimpressed with the whole thing, she was sure Davis thought that what happened was scandalous, and Ken was surprised that she got anything out of them.

"That's seriously what this is about? Regular high school drama?"

"Cody, you can't just act all high and mighty especially when you're going through some drama of your own," she reprimanded him.

"I'm not going though any drama," he countered back. She gave him a knowing look. Wasn't he going through something with his boss and his boss's daughter? Whatever.

"If you think about it…what happened was just petty high school stuff," Davis started. Yolei was going to strangle him if he thought this whole thing was scandalous. That's just ridiculous. "But the repercussions of the whole thing had a long lasting effect on their relationships with each other. Which doesn't make it petty. What they're fighting about isn't worth it, but the feelings associated with it is pretty heavy stuff. Especially with all the backstabbing going on."

Yolei wanted to reply, but nothing came to mind. Davis surprised her with his insight. Ken sat back in his chair and she desperately wanted to know what he was thinking.

Finally, her boyfriend spoke up. "So where does Sora fit into all of this?"

That she wasn't sure about. Davis on the other hand seemed pretty sure. "Isn't it obvious? She liked Matt."

They all sat there, pondering his assertion for a moment. "But that doesn't explain why Tai would still be happy with her."

"What do you mean?" Davis blinked. Yolei replied with an exasperated sigh. "Tai's relationship with her would be ruined if she really did like Matt."

"I'm pretty sure she was in love with him," a new voice stunned everyone currently in the room. T.K. stepped inside, crossing his arms. "She was definitely in love with Matt."

"How are you so sure?" Ken questioned, wary of his statement. Yolei had to admit it was somewhat far fetched, given the fact that she's engaged to someone now.

"Because I know Sora. And I know Matt. Matt's in love with her too."

"But wait," Cody stepped in. Yolei saw a spark of curiosity in his eyes. "What about Mimi?"

"It was just a fling. Nothing serious. Even though they did date for a couple of years. She even told me that she didn't love him. And I know Matt didn't really love her, because he was pretty enamored with Sora back then."

"How long have you been listening to us?" Davis asked out of the blue. Yolei agreed with him; he had a point. Was T.K. just standing there all along listening to every single word that they said?

"A couple of minutes."

"So you know everything that happened?" Ken asked him. T.K. gave a resounding no in response.

"I wish. But I do know more than people think I do. But only because I've talked to Mimi and Matt and even Sora at one point."

"I don't get it," Cody held his head in his hands, as if he was having a huge headache from the whole thing. Yolei didn't blame him; it was pretty confusing. It seemed as if everything was a misunderstanding.

"I didn't know Mimi used Izzy for example," T.K. continued. "That makes a lot of sense now why their relationship is strained."

"But why date each other when they don't love each other?" Cody asked. His head was spinning. Yolei could tell.

T.K. shrugged. "I suppose because at that point they had already blasted all of their other relationships down without any chance of repair. So all they had was each other to go off on. I do know that Mimi knew that Sora liked Matt. She just didn't know to what extent."

Yolei gasped. That made her disappointed in her idol. "She knew?"

T.K. nodded. "Yeah, but she went through with trying to get Matt anyway because that's who she liked at the time."

"And Izzy?" Cody asked. "How does he feel about all of this?"

"I wish I knew," T.K. answered. "His side of the story is pretty enigmatic, but it's clear that he was a pawn in the whole thing. That's what they were talking about earlier – Sora knew that Mimi was using Izzy way before the winter formal, but she didn't tell him until they were actually there."

"That's harsh," Davis whistled.

"So Sora didn't tell Izzy until she knew she could use it to her advantage. To damage the chances that Mimi and Matt would get together," Cody surmised, scratching his head.

"They were essentially fighting for a boy. Which destroyed their friendship," Ken added.

"But if Matt loved Sora, why get jealous over Izzy and Mimi?" Cody wondered aloud.

"I know the answer to that one." T.K. replied. "Matt told me it was because he couldn't see them being together – because it seemed impossible that a geek could be with the most popular girl in school. I guess he didn't see Izzy as a type that Mimi could potentially date. Superficial, I know, but this was high school after all."

"That's…the dumbest thing I've ever heard," Cody declared. Yolei wanted to laugh at his reactions. He seemed to be about done with all of this. She couldn't blame him. She pondered over whether she should get everyone into one room and have them get a go at it. It wouldn't be such a bad idea.

As if he was reading her mind, T.K. glanced at her, shaking his head. "Locking them all in a room until they're ready to talk isn't a good idea."

"Then what should we do? It shouldn't have to be this hard to get everyone to cooperate. It shouldn't have to be this awkward for everybody." Davis sighed in frustration. He started hitting his head with his hands, unsure of what to do next.

"I don't know," T.K. whispered, staring down at the floor. "Just hope, I guess."

* * *

Shivering from the cold air that surrounded him, Matt shoved his hands in his jacket pockets. He could hear thunder starting to rumble as he glanced up at the sky. It was getting pretty dark. But he needed to do this. He promised T.K. that he would. Otherwise, what was the point of being a good big brother? What was the point of being the role model he needed to be?

The corporation building stood tall; it honestly looked like it was his boss, waiting for some mistake that he made, waiting for him to mess up. His teeth started chattering; it was really getting cold wasn't it?

He didn't know why he had the sudden urge to do this now…maybe it was because if he did then at least T.K. will know he's making an effort in their next meeting. Whatever. Patching things up with Izzy wasn't something he particularly wanted to do, but if he wanted to show T.K. that he's trying…if he wanted to get on Sora's good side…if he even wanted to let Mimi know that he's trying too…then he had to do it.

Speaking of the computer genius…he spotted Izzy exiting the building (really, this late at night nonetheless) with a woman by his side.

One could tell that the woman was flirting shamelessly with him and wanting him to take her home. He, on the other hand, had Matt's expression on when fan girls fawned over him. Who knew that the computer genius would turn out to be such a ladies' man?

He could vaguely hear their conversation in the distance.

"So, I assume you're headed home?"

The red head nodded his head, smiling nervously. "Yeah, so I better go do that then."

"Why don't I come with you? I would be pretty good company after all."

Izzy laughed a bit, scratching the back of his head. It did somewhat comfort Matt to know that some of his old personality was still in there. Everyone seemed so different nowadays. Except for Mimi – she's always been the same person he knew.

"You know what?" Pursing his lips, Izzy teetered back and forth on his heels. "I have a lot of work to do tonight so…."

The woman pouted. "Come on, Koushiro. One night of fun wouldn't hurt."

"See that's the thing. Can't do it tonight. Another time, perhaps?"

"I don't see what the big deal is."

He suddenly saw a change in Izzy's demeanor. It wasn't friendly or flirty. Just cold. "There is no big deal because I don't like you."

His companion stood in shock at the blunt and insulting statement. She buttoned up her coat. "Hmph. Well if that's how you really feel."

"It is."

Matt was even surprised at how he was treating her. The Izzy he knew was pretty respectful of everyone. This was out of character, even for a socially awkward guy like him.

"Then I'll be going then."

As if just realizing what he had just said, Izzy suddenly looked apologetic. "I'm sorry. I just have a ton of work to do and I can't be distracted."

The woman looked him up and down before responding. She huffed. "Well, the next time you can just say that." She kissed his cheek. "Goodnight, Koushiro."

The genius nodded his head and watched her leave. He glanced at his watch before starting towards his car.

All of a sudden, Matt could feel rage build up within him. How dare he blow her off? How dare he treat her like that? This wasn't the first time Izzy had done this – he remembered that incident with that girl over the phone during the meeting. If he's going to act like this, like an ass, then he doesn't deserve any apology from him. In Matt's eyes, at least he himself didn't do something like this. Mimi definitely didn't deserve to be treated this way. If she wanted to make amends with him, she should see the type of character he truly is.

With his fist clenched, he started towards Izzy. He could feel the anger growing stronger and stronger. He didn't even know why he was this angry. It's not like it affected him at all. It's not like Izzy didn't apologize to the woman. All Matt knew was he wanted to punch his lights out for acting this way. He wanted to beat him up to show him that he was still a better choice for Mimi, for anybody, than he was.

Why was Mimi so bent on trying to mend things anyway? There was nothing to be fixed. She should've known that. He didn't need Izzy ruining his life again. Izzy ruined his chances with Sora. Izzy was the one who ruined his relationship with Mimi – making her feel guilty about what had transpired. He deserves to be punished.

He knew Izzy saw him, as he could hear the kid speak. "Matt."

"How dare you," he raced towards him, picking him up by his shirt and wanting to punch him in the face. He drew back his hand. Izzy tried to get out of it, but physically he wasn't as strong as Matt was. They both knew it.

"Matt, what's going—"

A part of Matt knew this wasn't right. _No. I shouldn't be doing this. _But the other side won over. Instead of punching him, he threw him across the street. Izzy landed on his butt, causing him to fall down on his back. He picked himself back up. "What are you—"

"You know what you did you coward. You ruined my chances with Sora, with Mimi. With everything. And now you're going to pay."

Izzy, bewildered and confused, stood up. "What—" Matt didn't wait for him to finish his sentence. He decked him again. Matt wanted to stop, but he couldn't. _What's going on with me?_ He drew back his hand and was about to punch Izzy again.

Seeing this, Izzy ducked the punch and started to run. He turned back around. "What are you doing, Matt? What is this?"

"Revenge," Matt uttered under his breath.

"It's not my fault you screwed it up with them. That's on you," Izzy sneered back. Matt didn't want to hear it. He barreled towards Izzy with as much force as he could muster. He felt like he was drunk, but he didn't have anything to drink that night. Rage seemed to seep out of his pores.

"You're the one who brought this on yourself, Matt. I didn't do anything," Izzy defended himself. Matt tried to deck him again but was brought to a full-on stop by something else.

"Matt!"

They both turned around at the voice. Mimi stood there, wondering what the heck was going on. He looked at her with distaste. She also played a part in ruining his chances at happiness. How dare she try to pretend that everything was so great all the time? She didn't have a right in doing so.

He turned to look back at Izzy. He could feel steam coming from his ears, and it seemed like Izzy was startled by what he saw because the kid took a step back. Matt spit on the ground. Izzy didn't deserve to be happy or to have any attention. Neither did Mimi.

"Matt…." Mimi started, but by then he had already picked himself off the floor and ran across the street, far away from them. He felt his conscious coming back slowly towards him. Why the heck did he do that? That was the opposite of what he wanted to do tonight. He was going to apologize, to make amends.

A little voice in his head answered that question for him. There's no need to make amends. You didn't do anything wrong. They did. You just need to focus on what's important: getting revenge.

Matt shocked himself at the thoughts that were swirling about in his head. He took a deep breath and tried to compose himself, a headache of his growing stronger by the minute. He groaned, holding his head in his hands. He didn't feel like he was in control of his actions anymore.

* * *

"Hopefully, that doesn't leave a black eye in the morning."

Izzy groaned, putting the icepack up to his face. Muttering thanks, he positioned himself so he wasn't hanging off of the counter. After putting something back in the fridge, Mimi walked towards where he was sitting and leaned her back against the counter he was sitting on.

"What the heck happened?"

"I don't know."

"So what, you guys just decided to get into a fight? That's your 'I don't know'?" Izzy glared at her as she sarcastically made an accusation.

"I didn't just decide to fight Matt. What am I, twelve?"

She scoffed. "You might as well be."

"Look, he just decked me out of nowhere. I had just finished working and then there he was, suddenly wanting to punch me in the face."

Scoffing again, Mimi gave him a look that really told him she didn't believe him. "Sure he hasn't been the friendliest guy in the world, but he definitely wouldn't just deck you for no reason."

He nodded his head, wincing a bit as the icepack rubbed against his face. "Of course you would take his side. That's how it's always been."

"You can't go blaming him for everything!"

"And I'm not! I'm just telling you the truth!" He stood up and stared her down, face-to-face. Hopefully, she'd believe him if she were looking into his eyes. It had looked like she had lost focus for a moment. She shook her head as if she was trying to shake something off and then stared right back him, glaring at him in the process.

"Well, who am I supposed to believe? The guy who has spent most of his life hating Matt or the guy who has spent just the past couple of weeks not being friendly to you?"

He clenched his teeth, and decided to back down. Izzy thought they could possibly be friends once more, but this isn't going to work. Not if she's going to take his side all the time and be subjective in everything she said.

As if realizing what she just said, she started talking again, "Izzy…."

"Don't," he swapped her hand away. "You clearly think he's always in the right. Maybe this so-called trying to mend things up isn't going to work."

"No, no." She took him by the shoulders, forcing him to look her in the eyes. The anger had washed away and now she was looking at him with a lot of sincerity he hadn't seen in awhile. "I'm sorry, Izzy. It's just…it's just not like Matt to do that."

"_I _even know that. Even though the past dictates otherwise. He does rush into fights along with Tai after all."

"But with you? Something doesn't add up."

He thought back to the fight. Something _was_ off, he just couldn't put his finger on it. He then remembered the flashing red and the glowing yellow that was in Matt's eyes for a minute before phasing away. _That_ was certainly out of the ordinary. But where was it coming from?

"What did he say to you?" Mimi's question removed him from his thoughts, as he shifted his focus back to her. Remembering the whole 'you ruined my life thing' wasn't something he _particularly_ wanted to share with her. _That_ definitely wouldn't make matters any better.

"Nothing. He just decked me is all."

He knew she was remaining skeptical, so he sighed and added, "It was a bunch of grumbling I didn't understand. There was something about him though…something that makes me think someone else is involved in all of this. His eyes…they flashed red and yellow for a bit before returning to its usual blue color. It startled me when I saw it."

Mimi's eyes widened as if she had just remembered something. "You don't think…?"

He squinted his eyes at the pain from Matt's punch. This was definitely going to hurt in the morning. Izzy didn't know what she meant so he just looked at her so she could give him more of an explanation.

"The Shadow King. He might be playing a part in all of this."

That thought hadn't entered his mind before. She'd be a genius if she was right. "Wait, but the Shadow King doesn't take possession of people, does he?"

Mimi shrugged. "All I know is that Giselle said that it feeds on jealousy, envy, anger, hatred, disgust…."

"Well, he seemed to have a ton of hatred and anger when he saw me."

"But if that's true…," she trailed off. He winced again, but this time it wasn't because of the pain. They might have an actual tough battle ahead of them.

"It's worse off than we thought," Izzy finished the sentence for her. They should probably call the others, warning them of this new discovery. But something nagged in the back of his mind, and he couldn't help but ask. "So why were you there anyway?"

"Hmm?"

"You were conveniently there to stop the fight."

Mimi chuckled a bit, and he could feel her not take him seriously. "Don't flatter yourself, Izzy. I was on my way home from a meeting myself."

"A meeting?" He could feel his eyebrows come together in confusion.

"Yeah. It was a dinner with my manager and my agent. I had to tell them I was going to be on leave for awhile, and we had to discuss the whole 'what the heck am I going to do with my career if I'm going to be MIA for awhile' kind of thing." Izzy nodded in understanding. He kind of felt bad…all of their careers would be on hold for awhile because of dealing with this whole thing.

"And you haven't changed. Working late has been your thing, hasn't it?" Her voice snapped him back to reality.

Responding to her question, he adjusted the icepack on his face. "Yeah, I guess."

"Is that all?"

He was confused by her question. "What do you mean?"

"Matt's feelings of rage wouldn't be there unless something activated it. He must've seen you do something that he didn't like at all. Otherwise, what would the Shadow King feed off of?"

She was continually surprising him with these observations. She did have a point though. "I, um…I don't know." He really didn't know what would set Matt off. He was just walking out of the building.

Mimi kept looking at him, hoping for an answer. He sighed in resignation. "I was just walking out of the building with a colleague of mine."

"A colleague?" She raised her eyebrows, as if she knew where this would lead to.

"Yeah, she's just someone who works in the same building. I mean all she did was ask if I wanted to go out to dinner or if I wanted her to come home with me…." He suddenly started to feel shy, scratching the back of his neck, looking anywhere but at Mimi.

She gave him an all-knowing look. "Is this the same girl you stood up at our meeting?"

"No it's a different one."

"Well, look at you all grown up," she teased. "Women are even starting to invite themselves back at your place." He could feel himself growing hotter, his face starting to blush a deep red.

"It's not like that."

"Who knew? Koushiro Izumi, ladies' man."

"Mimi."

"And what did you say?"

"I just said no."

"So you blew her off? You blew another woman off again?"

"It's not a big deal."

"How'd you say no?"

"I just said I didn't like her."

"Why?" She seemed genuinely surprised. "It's not like you to do this, Izzy. I know we haven't been friends for a long time, but it's still not like you do be that disrespectful."

"I don't know," he groaned. He really didn't want to talk about this now. Especially with her of all people.

"You're blowing off more women than I can count."

He started to feel annoyed. "It's fine, Mimi. Just leave it alone. So, do you know what set Matt off?" Maybe changing the subject would help get them back on track to figuring this thing out.

She was observant, and he could see the gears turning in her head for once, probably trying to figure out his personal life. Which he didn't want. He didn't need her dictating what he should and shouldn't do.

Finally, it seemed she settled on the problem at hand. "That might've set Matt off."

"What? Why?"

"I don't know, but you acting like an ass or anyone acting like an ass but himself always makes him angry."

"I wasn't acting like an ass."

She laughed a bit. Yep, she definitely didn't believe him.

"I wasn't!"

"As if the last rejection was any indication, you were. I just don't know why you're acting like this."

"Just leave it alone." He didn't mean to snap at her, but that's the way it sounded like.

"Fine," Mimi huffed. She looked at the time on her watch. "I should probably get going anyway." She picked up her purse and started towards the door. Izzy caught her attention again by calling her name. Turning around, she raised her eyebrows, putting her hands on her hips, waiting for him to speak.

He cleared his throat. He was grateful she was there to help, and coming back with him to his apartment to help him with his injuries. "Thank you, Mimi. It was nice of you to help out even when you didn't need to."

Her eyes softened at his remark. "That's what friends are for, right?"

Izzy was taken aback. He had never really stated that they had become friends again, but with this conversation, he felt like they could potentially renew their friendship. On her end at least, she felt like they were friends, he supposed. Giving her a small smile, he nodded. She gave him a smile back and turned back towards the door.

"Mimi," he called out once more. Once he knew he had her attention, he told her what he knew would hopefully ease her worries a little bit. "I don't hate Matt. He's just a jerk, that's all."

This elicited a small chuckle from her, and for now, he would take it. "Goodnight, Koushiro." It's been awhile since she had used his full name, so it somewhat surprised him to hear it come out of her mouth. With that, she opened his apartment door and left. The door slammed back into place, and he was left alone once again.

After putting the icepack down beside him, he stood up from where he was sitting on the counter and placed his feet back on the ground. Moving his head from side to side, top to bottom, he felt it crack a bit due to the tension and stress he's been feeling lately. He meandered around his apartment, trying to discern what to do next. His home office came into view as his feet stopped in front of it.

Knowing that he wasn't going to feel good sitting around trying to make his face feel better, he decided to step in the comfort of his office. He switched the room lights and his computers on, illuminating the room with his technological screens and gadgets. Slowly, he sat into the comfort of his own desk chair and waited for his computer to fully boot up.

If the Shadow King could take control of people's subconscious and emotions, then they were in for quite a ride. He suddenly doubted their ability to patch things up and get along – if their emotions and not regular battle plans and strategy were the key to defeating the Shadow King, that's going to be a problem. How they would be able to pull this off, he had no idea. He didn't even have an idea of how to deal with his own issues.

He could pull together battle plans. He could do tactical strategies. Dealing with emotions, however, wasn't something he didn't know if he could do. He didn't exactly excel at feelings, per se. There was one thing he was sure of: he really needed to put aside and get over what happened in the past with the others. Though it shouldn't be too hard, he decided. He was kind of over everything that had happened. He had moved on.

He pulled at his tie, feeling stifled by everything surrounding him. Only the whirring of his desktop provided any sort of solace. Leaning forward, he started to type at the keyboard, with no idea of what plan to put together.

* * *

And that's that, I guess haha. I hope you all liked it! While it seems that I've revealed most of the full story, there's still more intricate details that haven't been covered yet, so stay tuned! The cause of the fight seems pretty petty, but when getting down to the details and the feelings of it all, it's not so petty anymore. I tried showing the story from the outsider's perspective, but will get down to what Sora, Matt, Mimi, Izzy, and Tai all truly feel about it in future chapters. And T.K. and Kari of course.

Please let me know what you guys think about it in a review or a PM! :) Thanks for reading!


	5. An Emergence of the Shadows

**Hello! I'm back with a new chapter. Thank you so much for all of the reviews for the previous chapter. It meant a lot to have your feedback! I finally got back into the groove of things and have inspiration for where this story is headed. **

**Please note: I don't own Digimon. **

* * *

**Chapter 5 – An Emergence of the Shadows**

* * *

Sora instantly noticed Matt's unknown whereabouts at their meeting that took place. It had been a couple of days since they all last saw each other, but she didn't think he would skip out on this. Especially after the last conversation they all had. Shrugging to herself, she decided it would be best not to think about it too much.

"There's not much substantial evidence…," Izzy started. "But we believe the Shadow King has already made his first move."

With that statement, everyone turned towards Izzy. He certainly made a big accusation, that's for sure.

"It's with Matt," the clicking of his keyboard didn't distract her from the matter at hand. What about him?

Continuing, Izzy stopped typing to explain. "Matt acted rather impulsively the other day, and we think the Shadow King might attribute to it."

Sora narrowed her eyes, digesting what Izzy had just said. Matt wasn't one to act before thinking, but blaming the Shadow King for his actions was kind of extreme.

"What did he do?" Tai asked. Sora made sure to pay close attention to what Izzy said next.

"I don't really want to talk about it, but the point is that he did some stuff that was out of character."

"Define out of character," T.K. piped up. Sora silently agreed with him. Izzy wasn't the best judge of these things when it came down to it. T.K. knew Matt better than anyone else, so he would probably be the best person to ask about this.

Sora saw Izzy's eyes dart towards Mimi for a second, which was strange. She observed Izzy's eyes shifting until they landed on hers. Intrigued, she beckoned for him to tell them. They weren't going to get anything done with subtlety after all.

Sighing the genius, fell back into his seat. "He tried to beat me up."

"You're kidding," Tai started to laugh a bit, which caused everyone else to chuckle a little as well.

"It isn't funny!" Izzy protested. "It actually hurt. I had a black eye a couple of days ago, but yeah…."

"It's true," Mimi's voice could be heard throughout the room. She backed him up, and Sora was surprised at this. "I was walking down the street towards home when I saw the altercation."

"It's not like him to do this, though," T.K.'s voice was laced with concern. "He might act like he doesn't give a crap about anyone else, but he's not like this to just go and try to punch the lights out of somebody."

"That's what I'm saying," Izzy grumbled, running his hands through his hair. "I didn't accuse him directly of being an ass."

"Izzy," Davis warned. The sarcasm was being brought to the front, and Sora giggled at the prospect that Davis really wasn't having any of it.

"So what's this about the Shadow King then?" Kari inquired. Mimi answered that question.

"We believe the Shadow King took control of Matt's emotions—his anger and hatred—and started controlling him somehow with it. Matt wouldn't just do this out of the blue. There had to have been some reason for it. And since Izzy and Matt hadn't spoken before he tried to beat him up, there really wasn't any practical reason for Matt to do it…unless something else was controlling him. It sounds crazy, but it's the only explanation that comes to mind."

"It ties up with what Giselle was saying that's for sure," Izzy agreed with her, continuing to type on his computer.

"How can you be so sure? There's no evidence." Joe asked. Sora wanted proof that the Shadow King was controlling Matt. Maybe he was just being an ass like he usually was.

"There was a red/yellow hue tint in his eyes. It flashed for a bit before he looked like he returned to normal," Izzy replied. Sora scoffed. That doesn't really count as evidence, but what did she know? They didn't have much to go off of anyway.

"I still find that hard to believe," Joe commented on the situation. He wasn't wrong. It was a bit of a stretch to say that the Shadow King took over Matt's body, but then again, the debate over whether Matt himself would really do something like that was up for contention. They could go for hours speculating whether or not Matt did it out of his own conscience.

"If you think I'm wrong, then that's your problem," Izzy replied, leaning his back into the chair. Izzy's confidence about his intelligence and his conclusions was one thing that never really bothered Sora. In fact, if anything, it gave her some comfort in knowing that someone knew the problem and how to attack it.

"Fine, then," Tai stood up from his hunched position on the wall. "Say it's true. How the heck do we even go about fighting that?"

"Get through to Matt," Mimi replied, causing everyone to turn their attention to her. For a second, Sora thought she was looking straight at her when she said that. Like the mission to do so was all on her. It wasn't like she knew Matt at all anymore to begin with. "We have to make him see that the Shadow King is using his emotions against him to strike us all down."

Izzy countered back, "If the Shadow King is manipulating him, it won't be as easy to take him down with just small talk." Sora could see that he didn't approve of the emotional appeal Mimi was going for.

It seemed like Mimi thought the exact same thing when she retorted, "Well, all problems in the world can't be solved with science, Koushiro."

The use of Izzy's full first name surprised her. No one had called him that since…well, she couldn't even remember the last time he had been called by that.

Izzy's eyebrows shot up in his forehead. "Oh yeah?" A challenging tone could be heard through his voice. "It's not a logical approach to the situation. Feelings aren't the answer to this whole thing, that's not how you save the world."

"And you can't save the world with just strategy after strategy," the point Mimi brought up is a point that she's been advocating ever since they were little kids. It somewhat comforted Sora to know that deep down inside, Mimi really hadn't changed from the pacifist, emotional girl that they had all met years ago.

"We're a team, remember? We can't just leave Matt behind and fight him and hope for the best when it all culminates into one final battle. We have to get through to him, to get him back on our side, to remind him of the team we once were. And _that's_ something you can't accomplish with logic, Izzy. It's not possible that way."

"You're letting your feelings cloud your head, Mimi."

She scoffed and crossed her arms, glaring at the genius. "And I can't believe, that after all this time, you're still letting your head mess with the way that you feel."

Tai stepped up in between them, trying to prevent another fight. "Okay, then. Look, we can't solve anything by doing whatever this is," he gestured in between the two and looked around the room. "Maybe it is the Shadow King. Maybe it was just Matt being an ass because he just doesn't like Izzy. Who knows? What we do know is that, unfortunately, Mimi's right in this case. If we want Matt back, we have to try to talk to him."

Sora was impressed with Tai's diplomatic skills. Usually, he'd be the one in the fight or riling it up instead of halting it.

Silence filled the room. T.K. spoke up. "I guess I'll try."

"I don't know if you'll get through to him," Mimi replied, locking eyes with T.K. Izzy, who was sitting up in his chair decided to slump back again in defeat. Tai cleared his throat.

"Okay, so then Mimi, can you talk to him and try to see what's going on here?"

Mimi shook her head, uncrossing her arms and placing her hands on the surface of Izzy's desk. "That's not my job. I can't do it."

"Why not?" Tai was surprised at her response. Sora was too, and she cautiously looked over at Mimi, who unsurprisingly, looked back at her. Damn it. Somehow, she knew this was coming.

"Because I could never really understand Matt. I could never get through to him fully. Do I know him? Yeah, sure. I know a heck of a lot about him and some stuff about how his mind works. But why? That's something I've never been able to figure out. Sora, it's your turn. And I should've stepped out of the way and let it be your turn a long time ago."

Sora's breath caught in her throat. She noticed everyone's attention turn towards her. There was a part of her that didn't really understand what Mimi was talking about, and yet, there was a different part that perfectly understood what she was saying.

No. She can't. She was engaged, and it wasn't like there was still any lingering feelings for him to begin with. She looked towards Tai, trying to catch his eye, but once she did, he instantly turned away, eyes staring at the floor.

"I'm…not exactly sure what's happening here." Leaning forward in his chair again, Izzy crossed his arms on the desk. "But, if people think you can get through to Matt, Sora, then by all means, do it."

Even though Izzy wasn't exactly the subtlest person around, his statement surprised her. Did he really not know how exactly she was involved in this? She thought he knew everything, but his prompting suggested otherwise.

Her lack of a response must've been for longer than she anticipated when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She shook her head from the trance she just had. Tai's hand had never felt heavier on her shoulder than it did in that moment. He smiled and she saw just a hint of hurt and regret in his eyes. "You should do it, Sor. For the good of the team."

His hand dropped down back to his sides, and he walked towards the door of the office, opened it, and left, never looking back in the process. Feeling stifled, she too, also made her way towards the door. A part of her felt the need to lock it after closing it, wishing that she could just leave the past behind and everything in it.

* * *

"Hey, wait up!" Her heels clicked against the concrete, in an attempt to catch him before their next meeting.

He didn't seem to slow down, and she rolled her eyes. "Tai, seriously, turn around!"

Finally seeming to get the message, he slowed his pace, allowing her to catch up with him. He sighed in exasperation, raising an eyebrow. "What do you want, Mimi?"

She was taken aback at the lack of friendliness he had. "I just…I just wanted to say thank you, for you know…taking my side in the whole Matt thing. It was nice of you to do."

"Yeah, well…it can't all be logic that'll do it, can it?"

Mimi nodded her head. Tai sighed. "I didn't do it to just back you up. I only did it because we would've been standing there listening to you two argue for a long time if I hadn't done that. And because we do need to talk to Matt. Izzy just doesn't want to see that there can't be a way to do it without discussing emotions and stuff."

"I know," Mimi replied, nodding her head. And she truly did know. She just wanted him to know that it was still nice of him to step in, regardless of what his intentions were. She knew that she wasn't exactly his favorite person in the world either because of what she did to his two best friends. But if anything, she figured her relationship with Tai could be an easy one to patch up. But listening to how receptive he was during this conversation, she was beginning to think it wouldn't be that easy.

"Okay," he replied, and she knew he was going to walk away if she didn't say something else.

"I know you hate me. And that's okay, I'm fine with that. But the least you could do is pretend to get along with me, Matt, and everyone else for the time being."

She thought she saw his eyes soften a bit from her comment. Gathering up the courage to say something that he needed to hear, she spoke again.

"I'm sorry things didn't work out with you and Sora."

That got his attention if anything. As she anticipated, he deflected, his eyes looking anywhere but her. "I don't know what you're talking about."

She didn't want to say anything else about it. It wasn't her place anyway. "I know you know. And I just wanted to say that it sucks she doesn't feel the same way. And it sucks that you still think about her in that way. Unless…." A realization dawned on her. "Unless you never told her how you feel."

His jaw clenched and his fist tightened into a ball. "It's none of your business."

"You're right," she crossed her arms. "It isn't. And it sure isn't my business to get involved with my ex-best friend's love life. But when you butted in years ago in my business, well, I'm just returning the favor."

"He's my best friend, Mimi. How could I not get involved?"

"He was mine too, you know. It wasn't any of your business to begin with."

"Yeah, he was also yours, until you screwed it up," his eyes narrowed. She sighed in frustration. This wouldn't get them anywhere. "If you never told her how you felt, then that's on you. Remember that."

She started to walk away when she heard, "She's engaged now, you know."

Stopping, she turned back to look at him. There was a significant amount of pain in his eyes that she could somewhat relate to, but because of her own problems. Her next sentence was a whisper, even though she didn't mean it to be, "I'm sorry, Tai."

He shook his head, running his hands through the bushy head of hair of his that hadn't changed. "I'm not surprised. She's great, and someone was supposed to snatch her up sometime."

"Well," Mimi interrupted him from wallowing in his own self-pity. "If it's any consolation, I think it would've been great if you two had given it a shot."

It truly would've been. She wasn't lying about that. In fact, when they were kids, she always thought that the two of them would end up together. That was one of the reasons why she couldn't see Matt and Sora together back in high school, and why she felt entitled to getting Matt romantically.

She wanted to suggest that maybe he still had a chance, and that maybe it wasn't too late to tell her. But they both knew that would be a false statement, containing of empty promises and dwindling hope. The only way that would turn out to be true was if she wasn't fully invested in and in love with her current fiancé and didn't still harbor feelings for…well, Matt. Which she didn't even know because she hadn't talked to Sora in such a long time.

It didn't matter anyway. If that was the case, Tai would still get the short end of the stick. She didn't know how to console him; it was just best for him to move on. But if he hadn't moved on since high school, she wasn't sure how he could now.

Deciding that it was best that she leave it at that, she started walking away again. His next statement made her heart jump into her throat. "It's not because of you that he's like this, you know."

She could either keep walking and pretend like she didn't hear anything, or turn around and talk about it. The prospect of Izzy being over her was something that she knew was a thing – how could it not be, but yet, it still hurt to hear that somehow.

Speaking carefully and her voice at no higher than a whisper, she could feel her hands somewhat trembling at her sides. "What does that mean?"

"The way you hurt him back then….the unrequited love he had for you, well he's moved past that. He's over it. You're not the one at fault anymore. If anything it's been awhile since he's forgiven you."

She was still speechless. A part of her believed it was too good to be true. She knew that Tai saw she couldn't really say anything in response, so he continued his explanation.

"It's hard to believe. I even have a hard time believing it. But it's not you."

"Well," she started slowly. "If it's not because of me, why is he still so distant?"

"It's a deflecting mechanism. The ass behavior he's exhibiting—it's just to prevent himself from getting hurt again. But you're not the reason why."

She waited for him to continue, intrigued as to the story behind it.

"Emma Davinson. His girlfriend throughout college. British, intelligent, and to top it all off she was really beautiful too. They dated for awhile…I'm not sure for how long. Three, almost four years maybe? Anyway, she's the reason."

Mimi was suddenly confused. "Why are you telling me this?"

He shrugged. "It's not really any of your business. I just didn't want you to blame yourself for longer than you needed to. Out of everybody, you're really the only one who keeps blaming yourself. I guess I wanted you to know that you're not the center of his world anymore; you haven't been for a long time. He was doing great without you."

She couldn't say that what he said didn't hurt. But he certainly looked like he was doing well for himself. It definitely seemed like he was fine without her. "So, they broke up and he's brokenhearted."

"In the smallest sentence, yeah. I mean I wouldn't use the word brokenhearted. He is Izzy in the first place. Long story short, it got so serious that he was even planning on proposing to her." She must've had a look of shock on her face because he chuckled a bit. "Yeah, I know. Koushiro Izumi, getting down on one knee and wanting to live the rest of his life with someone? It was hard to believe."

No kidding. He was the last person she would imagine that would consider something like that. Especially at such a young age. She remembered the time when they were stuck together in the Digital World and he wouldn't pay attention to anything except his laptop.

"But he planned to. I helped him buy the ring and plan it and everything."

"Wow," was the word that could only sum up what she was thinking at the moment.

"The night he was going to propose…she broke it off, saying that she was in love with somebody else—a good friend of the both of them. And…that was it."

"What—what do you mean that was it?"

"Well, afterwards, he threw himself into his work. I wanted to cheer him up, so I set him up on a date one night, and took him out to the bar another…it started a slew of dates."

"And…," she was almost afraid to ask. "One night stands?"

"I don't know about that actually. He wouldn't really give me any details on how any of his dates went. I imagine he might have had a few, but it seemed like he wasn't totally comfortable with womanizing around in that way, so I don't think he continued down that far every time he went out on a date with a girl."

He sighed, shrugging his shoulders. "Which leads us to today, he doesn't really take any dates seriously, and none of his "new" relationships really last more than a week if even. It's always a new girl each time, or cancellations here and there because of work."

She was still confused as to why he'd tell her all this though. "So all he does is work and date and blow them off?"

"Yeah, pretty much. If he feels like it's getting serious, he'll cut it off immediately. Even if it's only been a couple of dates in. My guess is he just doesn't want to feel that way again. He doesn't want to get rejected again. It sucks, I know it all too well – even if I never told Sora how I feel."

She instantly felt worse—she knew it wasn't her fault, but she was one of the girls who practically did the same thing to him. For him to put his heart and emotions on the line meant a big deal, she knew that now. If he gave you his undivided attention, that alone meant a lot. Someone breaking his heart again didn't seem right. He didn't deserve any of it. "And did Emma happen…was she the girl he dated after what happened between him and me? Or was there a couple of women in between?"

Tai shook his head, confirming her suspicions. "She was pretty much right after the whole ordeal between you and him went down."

"Why are you telling me this, Tai? To make me feel worse enough as it is?"

"Actually, no," he replied. "The way he's shutting himself off is worrying his everybody, including his parents. He's built this ice wall around him, and his emotions are hardened more than ever before. I'm even getting concerned. None of us can talk to him or help him. Somebody needs to bring him back. I think that you're the only one who could get through to him. You've always had a talent of doing so, and maybe this time's not any different."

* * *

"I think it would be good for you if you talked to him."

She thought it would be T.K. to come up and talk to her. She was expecting Mimi. She anticipated Tai. But never did she think that Joe would try and talk her into it.

"Joe." Sora couldn't think of anything else to say.

"I thought I would give it a shot."

She chuckled to herself. Good, old, reliable Joe. Out of all of the boys, he was the one that actually looked more mature. He was the one who actually looked like an adult. His eyes seemed like they had wisdom well beyond all of their years. His appearance still had the image of a young adult, but he was definitely the most mature of them all.

His blue hair was cropped short and he still wore his glasses—not that it was a bad thing, he looked like he knew a lot more than the rest of them after all. Tai had always looked so forlorn and distraught nowadays. When she first saw Matt after awhile, he still looked like a petulant child, filled with anger and rage and unable to let things go. Izzy, though he tried acting mature about everything, needed to grow up emotionally, and that could be seen in his appearance and facial expressions.

But Joe had grown up more than the rest of them had. It was like he finally let go of all that stress from school and work and had just renovated himself into a new man. She smiled a bit to herself. He would always be their senpai, their reliable leader.

"And what did you think the outcome would be?"

"A push in the right direction," he smiled, pushing his glasses back up on his nose.

She chose not to respond, instead gazing at her reflection through the lake.

"Sora," he started, and she wondered whether he would actually lecture her on the matter or not. "I'm here to help in whatever way I can."

Confused, she watched him as he sat on the bench next to her. He continued, "I don't want to know what happened. It's none of my business. But what my business does concern is the outcome of this fight with the Shadow King. Which is why I'm here to ask you to do this. No matter what happened between you two, Sora, I know that you know in your heart you have to do this."

She let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "I don't understand why _I_ have to be the one to do it. There's T.K., there's Mimi…."

He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't get it either. To be honest, somewhere inside, you probably know why you have to do it. If not, you can always talk to them and ask."

Crossing her arms, she shook her head in response.

"Look. I don't really understand what went on, even when Yolei went on a fact finding mission to figure it out and told us what she found."

"Yolei should mind her own business," was the response she decided to say because it was true. Yolei didn't have any right going to everyone to try and piece the puzzle together. It wasn't something that she was supposed to do.

Joe sighed, pushing his glasses back up on his nose. "All I know is that you were hurt in the process. Izzy was too. And Matt and Mimi are apparently the perpetrators of the events. But maybe, just maybe, they got hurt in the process too. Sure, most of it was their fault, but I hope you stopped and asked if their feelings got hurt as well."

Some guilt came crawling to her. A part of her knew that everyone was hurt somehow, she just didn't want to believe that they were too. No matter which way she could spin it, she knows that the end of their friendship hurt Mimi as well. She knows that Matt was also hurt in the process, but after all this time, she still didn't know why.

"It's easy to say to do it if you're looking from the outside," she told him. The breeze swayed gently, her hair swaying in the wind a bit.

"True," Joe conceded. "But the person who wields the crest of love would then tell me that the best thing to do would be to suck it up."

That elicited a laugh out of her. He was right.

"And…," he continued, "there's no reason not to sort this out. You guys are adults after all."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Joe shook his head at her, trying to get her to concede.

She sighed in defeat. "Joe, you wouldn't happen to know how to repair a broken friendship after all these years?"

After a pause, she heard his response. "Talking is a good place to start."

"And what if we don't think talking would help?"

"Talking always helps. Well, it depends if both parties are receptive to the conversation."

After all this time, she still found herself worrying about everyone else. Sure, Matt and Mimi caused her a lot of hurt. But Mimi was apologetic for everything she'd done. And she seemed sincere. Maybe it was time to leave the past behind and forge a new future.

If Izzy was right (which he always was no matter how much anybody contested it), Matt was in trouble. If the Shadow King seems to feed on rage and anger, it was no wonder why Matt was affected by it first. What she was confused about, was why he was so angry all the time. _He_ was the one who got what he wanted all those years ago. _He_ was the source of all her anger at times. _He _didn't have a reason to be angry. _He_ shouldn't be hating on Izzy, as Izzy never did anything to him. And just thinking about that, of Matt's petulant and rude behavior toward others, made her blood boil. It wasn't right for him to do so. He's the one who broke her heart, not the other way around.

And with that, she knew exactly what to do. And it wasn't to have a heart-to-heart with him. No. It was to finally get out all the anger she's been feeling towards him all these years. It was finally time to let him know her thoughts and how she's felt about all of this.

If he wouldn't listen to reason, then she would just have to take an unreasonable approach.

* * *

Kari watched as T.K. and came through Davis's apartment door with his girlfriend. Her eyes widened as she saw her. Kimiko? From high school? She couldn't fathom why T.K. would want to be with her, as Kimiko wasn't the nicest person in high school.

"T.K., thanks for coming, man!" Davis's voice could be heard throughout his apartment.

"No prob! Thanks for the invite! You remember Kimiko, right?"

"Of course! How are you doing, Kimiko? Does it feel good to be back in Japan?"

The girl laughed wholeheartedly, and Kari was taken aback by how nice she sounded. Kimiko was one of those girls in high school that would laugh at others for not having a good fashion sense for example, and Kari couldn't understand how T.K. could be with her.

"It feels great, Davis. Nice to see you again!"

It was Davis's idea to have this get together in the first place. He figured if they were all supposed to work together to save the world, that it would be best to get reacquainted with each other. Of course, the get together was only intended for the new Digidestined, as inviting the old Digidestined to come along probably wouldn't have been the best idea. Kari wasn't initially opposed to the idea, but seeing Kimiko now made her feel irritated with the whole situation.

She was also aware of Yolei being pretty observant, and the glances Yolei would send her way. Tai had told her earlier about Yolei's escapade to understand what was going on, which in her point of view, she had no business of knowing. Even though she knew that Yolei was just being a concerned friend, and that she already knew about the events that had transpired between her and T.K., it still was none of her business.

For some reason, the irritation and anger inside of her was growing. And she didn't know why.

"Kari!" Her head snapped up to find Davis grinning at her. He pointed to Kimiko. "You remember Kimiko right?"

She felt her fists curl up and her teeth clench together. "Um, yes. Hi Kimiko."

She noticed T.K.'s eyebrows inch up at her tone. But what does he know? He doesn't know who she is anymore. If T.K. can date someone like Kimiko, then she doesn't know who he is anymore. He's not _her_ T.K. anymore.

"Kari, hi," Kimiko started speaking in her (perfected fake) voice, if Kari said so herself. "How are you doing?"

Although it seemed like Kimiko was genuine, Kari was still skeptical. Kimiko always wanted T.K. throughout high school, and now she had him. Before, it was never a contest because T.K. was so enamored with her in high school. Now, the roles were reversed and Kari felt herself standing on the other side of what could have been.

T.K. was the one who was in love with her. He was the one who wanted to be with her. So why the heck was he settling with Kimiko of all people?

"Fine. I'm doing fine. How about you?"

She didn't know if it was just her, but she could've sworn that Kimiko was smirking, as to signal victory while she replied, "I'm doing great, Kari. It's nice to see you again too."

"You know what?" Kari felt herself speaking up. She didn't mean to say these next couple words, but she didn't know what was coming over her. "It really isn't nice to see you, Kimiko. Are you still the bitch you've always been?"

With that comment, everyone in the room stopped, as Kari had said it louder than a normal speaking voice. Kimiko looked taken aback, and for some reason, Kari was satisfied with what had just happened. She didn't want to apologize, nor did she think she had something to apologize for.

T.K. butted in, his face contorting into an expression of anger. "Kari, what the heck is wrong with you? What did Kimiko ever do to you?"

And for some reason, all Kari wanted to do was throw Kimiko under the bus. Instead of backing down, she felt like fighting. "Geez, T.K. All you do is talk and talk about Kimiko. What about the rest of us, huh? What about me?!"

"What do you mean, what about you?" The hurt in T.K.'s eyes were evident, but she couldn't stop. There was a part of her that wanted to, but the other part just wanted to keep on going. The latter won.

"You've loved me! It's always been me! And now, suddenly, you change your mind to Kimiko when it's convenient?"

"You still have feelings for Kari?" Kimiko stepped in, accusing T.K. He swiveled his head towards her.

"No, I don't."

"Then, what the heck is she talking about?"

"Nothing."

"It doesn't seem like nothing. I'm sorry, but I'm not going to stand here and be accused by her of anything," Kimiko grabbed her coat. She turned to Davis. "I'm sorry for leaving, Davis. It would've been a lovely party."

"Kimiko, wait!" T.K. called out to her. Kari could feel him glaring at her, but instead of feeling ashamed, she glared back at him. He shook his head and ran out after Kimiko.

"Kari, please." She heard Yolei pleading to her. "What's gotten into you?"

She looked around the room. Everyone was either giving her disapproving looks or analyzing her with concern. Davis was the only one that stood out. He was staring intensely at her, as if he was trying to figure something out. A look of realization gleamed in his eyes. At the same time, a piercing, throbbing pain could be felt in her head.

She held her head and closed her eyes for a minute. Shaking it off, she decided to leave the so-called party they were having. It wasn't worth staying. She could hear calls of 'Kari', asking her to stay. The last thing she heard before the door slammed behind her was something that should have been of interest to her. Instead, she couldn't bear the pain in her head anymore and decided to think nothing of it. She could hear Davis's voice echo through her mind.

"Damn it. I hate it when Izzy's right."

* * *

**I hope you all enjoyed this episode! It was rough to plan how to write it, but it's here now. Please let me know what you think in a review or a PM - it's always appreciated. :) Thank you so much for reading! **


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